


The Great American Fake-Off

by suzvoy



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-15 19:46:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suzvoy/pseuds/suzvoy
Summary: May the best pretend boyfriend win.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another fake dating fic! Ah, I do love this trope :D
> 
> Luke/Reid (shocker) AU, set in the early days of their storyline. Rated PG-13.
> 
> Many, many thanks to nel and d for their constant encouragement. Feedback would be fab!

It wasn't even 8:30 in the morning and Reid had already had more than enough of Luke Snyder.

"Do you really have to follow me everywhere?"

Luke just kept walking right next to him. "Trust me, Dr Oliver, the last thing I want to do is spend more time than I have to with you, either. It just seems that we're heading to the same destination."

Annoyingly, he was probably right – the only place worth going to in this part of Old Town was Java, where they were both likely heading for their morning caffeine fix. God knew Reid couldn't get by on the swill they served at the hospital. And he'd honestly seen Luke in Java enough times in the morning that he knew he was likely to catch a glimpse of him most days, even if they didn't talk to each other.

Today he hadn't been so lucky.

"What are you doing up this early anyway?" he asked, though Luke was in a suit so the answer seemed obvious. At this point Reid was just messing with him. "I would've thought your people wouldn't deign to get out of bed before 10am."

"My people?"

"You know," he explained, "rich people. Entitled people."

Stepping up pace to walk next to him, Luke rolled his eyes as they turned a corner. "In case you've forgotten, I do actually have a job. Just grabbing a coffee before I start work at the Foundation."

"Can't blame me for losing track," he said, though of course he'd done nothing of the kind. "You just seem to spring up wherever I am, no matter what the time of day. I just assumed you had nothing better to do." Though, in all honesty, since Luke and Noah seemed to have finally ended things – for real, this time – Luke had been around a lot less often.

Not that Reid had noticed his absence in particular. It was just that when an annoying fly had been buzzing around you for months, you couldn't help but relish the silence when it finally stopped.

"Spending time at work or spending time harassing you?" Luke asked with a smirk as they finally stepped into Java. "It's a tough call, gotta admit."

Shaking his head, Reid got into line in front of Luke deliberately – he had technically been ahead of him when they'd bumped into each other – then made a point of looking up at the list of drinks. He knew perfectly well what he was getting – he always got the same drink, being a creature of habit – but anything that might persuade Luke to stop talking to him was worth investing in.

It didn't work, of course.

"You gonna get that caramel thing?" Luke asked conversationally, like they discussed coffee orders all the time.

How did he even know about that? "You know about that?"

"We're both in here most mornings," he pointed out, "and Noah used to work here, you know." He'd heard that. "I'm close with most of the barista's." Luke waggled his eyebrows like he knew something Reid didn't. He was probably just doing it to be annoying, but Reid found himself responding to it anyway.

"And, what?" he asked. "They secretly pass on the coffee orders of regular customers? If that's the case then, one, you all need to get lives and two, surely that must violate some kind of customer-employee confidentiality."

"This isn't medicine," Luke argued, "it's serving coffee. There's no doctor-patient confidentiality equivalent at Java."

"Well there should be," he replied, "and if anyone's the expert on doctor-patient confidentiality around here it's certainly not-"

"Reid Oliver," a voice interrupted – a disturbingly familiar voice, that filled Reid with a wave of revulsion as he finally paid attention to the man in line in front of him. "I thought that was your voice."

The guy had turned around completely now and though he was a little older, he still looked annoyingly attractive. He'd aged well, against everything Reid had hoped for. "Steve." He was caught so completely by surprise that he was actually dumbstruck for a few seconds. Steve was literally the last person he'd ever wanted to see again. He'd known it might be a possibility someday, assuming they were both still working in the medical industry, but he'd sure as hell never expected it to happen here, in a tiny town at the ass-end of nowhere.

He'd thought he'd be safe, here.

Reid still hadn't managed to say anything else so he was grateful – for once – when Luke intervened, taking over the conversation and introducing himself. "Luke Snyder," he offered, shaking Steve's hand. He couldn't imagine what Luke was even thinking about Reid's sudden muteness.

"Steve Rogers," he greeted, before adding charmingly, "and no, before you ask, not the same one." He was still using that old line, then. "How do you know Reid?"

"Oh, he's-"

Reid didn't even know he was going to do it before he suddenly was. "We're dating."

Luke's eyes went comically wide but fortunately, right then, Steve was busy looking at Reid with surprise. "Good for you, Reid," he said with no sincerity whatsoever.

Luke was plainly still scrambling to keep up and Reid was trying to communicate with his eyes that he really, really needed Luke to play along no matter how much they annoyed each other. As always, Luke just wouldn't shut up. "Uh, I really don't know why he-"

"I'm surprised, though," Steve interrupted, thankfully for Reid's sanity, as he finally looked Luke over from head to toe. "I mean he's cute and all but he barely looks like more than a child. Unless that kind of thing is allowed in Oakdale."

Reid could actually see the moment Luke's face hardened, his resolve settled, and he finally realised that Steve Rogers was the real villain here and absolutely needed to be taken down.

"He can speak for himself," he pointed out firmly, "and he's very proud that he gets to date someone as intelligent and as caring as Reid."

Okay, so he was putting it on a bit thick, but it was better than the obvious confusion he'd been showing previously.

Undeterred, Steve just laughed – making Luke glower even more. "Defensive of you, isn't he? Don't tell me you've actually tricked someone into liking you."

Oddly enough, with Luke now backing him up, Reid finally got his metaphorical feet back under himself. "Unlike you," he said dryly, "I don't need to manipulate anyone to make that happen."

Steve's smug facade finally cracked, a little. "Touché," he said, before being called forward by the barista to give his order.

As soon as Steve's back was turned, Reid leaned in close to Luke. "Evil ex."

"No kidding," Luke spat back in a whisper. "This explains so much about you."

No time to deal with that comment right now. "You're really okay with-?"

"The enemy of my enemy, right?" he responded quietly. "Besides, I didn't think it was possible, but he's even more arrogant than you are. I would love to see him brought down a few notches. Unless," he offered, "you just want to get out of here. I can understand not wanting to waste your time on him."

"Really not giving him that satisfaction," Reid murmured back, just as Steve finished paying and moved over to wait at the other end of the counter for his order.

Luke really went the whole hog, speaking over Reid to order for the both of them – he really did know Reid's order, down to the letter – selling the idea that they knew each other that well. When they were forced to wait next to Steve at the collection area, Luke even casually slung an arm around Reid's waist.

Reid honestly didn't care – anything that helped prove the idea that they were together right now was good as far as he was concerned.

Steve, of course, started talking again – he'd always liked the sound of his own voice. "So you're living here now?" he asked Reid. "Would've thought this town would be too small for someone with an ego the size of yours."

"You're here too," he pointed out casually. "That's a little like the pot calling the kettle black."

"Ah, but I'm only visiting," Steve argued. "I've been sent by my company to assess a business opportunity. Should be here for a couple of weeks."

Reid processed that information. "Not still practising as a doctor, then."

"Oh God, no," he said with practically a shudder. "No, I decided a while ago that working in the corporate side of medicine was a much better fit."

"There's a shocker," Reid muttered, because Steve had only ever cared about himself. Of course he would remove himself from a job that actually helped people.

"Really?" Luke said to Steve, ignoring Reid's remark. "That's a shame. I know Reid finds helping his patients particularly rewarding."

"True," Steve agreed, "but then he always was a soft-touch."

He obviously meant it as an insult but Luke deliberately took it as a compliment, even though it probably went against everything he thought he knew about Reid. "Yes, one of the things I always found most attractive about him is how determined he is to help his patients, no matter what. I've lost track of the amount of times he's stayed late at work, trying to find a solution to a problem to help a patient."

Luke knew about that?

"More fool him," Steve shrugged. "And what do you do?"

"Oh, me?" He asked innocently, like he couldn't possibly do anything important – then launched his attack. "I run a multi-million dollar charitable foundation that supports at-risk youth."

"Well," Steve remarked in what seemed like honest surprise, "I thought Reid had just hooked up with some hot young thing in an attempt to stave off his impending mid-life crisis, but you actually have a brain."

There was so much he was about to say to that, but Luke got there first.

"Yes, I do," Luke said sharply, narrowing his eyes, "and right now this brain is wondering why we're wasting any time talking to you at all. You might be the most unpleasant person I've ever met."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Steve smirked, when – thank everything holy – his order arrived. Grabbing the cup, he said nothing to his server, instead turning to look at Reid. "I'm assuming you're working at Memorial Hospital? In that case, I'm sure we'll see each other again," he winked, before turning and walking out of Java.

"Wow," Luke announced, dropping the arm that'd still been around Reid's waist, "what an asshole."

Feeling a little more metaphorically steady on his feet, Reid turned to regard him. "I don't think I've ever heard you curse before."

"That guy deserved it," he replied and Reid really couldn't disagree.

"I would've thought cursing broke some sacred Snyder vow," he suggested anyway. "Don't you get two years in the out-house for using a curse word?"

"So this is how it's gonna be?" Luke asked, instead of answering the question – which, truthfully, had been mostly for show anyway.

"How what's going to be?"

"I help you out," Luke observed, "and you go right back to making fun of me?"

Of course he would. "This changed nothing," Reid argued, "I still think you're a spoiled brat who manipulates the situation until he gets what he wants, I just think Steve's worse. Hell, you agreed that he needed to be dealt with – I don't owe you anything."

"Well," Luke said, conveniently just as their drinks arrived, "good luck dealing with him the next time you see him and no longer have a boyfriend." Point made, Luke took his drink, thanked the barista and left.

Rolling his eyes, Reid took his own drink and dashed after him.

"Okay," Reid began when he caught up to him. "I might owe you something."

"Yeah, three dollars for the coffee," Luke told him, not slowing down.

"Not just that," he said, grabbing Luke's arm – which finally made the other man stop. "Look, we know each other...fairly well by now. I may...poke at you more than I should because of our past."

"How brave of you to say so, Dr Oliver."

Reid looked at him, unimpressed. "You remember how you even got me here in the first place, right? Doesn't exactly leave a guy with a good first impression."

Losing a little of his self-righteousness, Luke conceded with a nod. "Fair point."

"But..." He knew he had to do this, he just didn't want to. "You're not all that bad. I mean, don't get me wrong – you totally screwed my life up." That wasn't even a lie or exaggeration. "But it wasn't for you, personally. You were trying to help someone and – well. Your heart was in the right place, blah blah. The point is," he went on, "in your own, weird little Snyder way, you were trying to do the right thing."

"Wow," Luke remarked, "you really suck at compliments."

"But the important thing is that you knew it was a compliment," Reid pointed out. "Because...you're right. If he is really going to be here for a few weeks, I might need you to play the boyfriend again."

"So you're only really being nice – well, trying to be nice – so I'll be your boyfriend again?"

He didn't even deny it. "Is it working?"

Luke studied him curiously. "He must've really done a number on you to make you of all people worry about appearing single or not."

Reid had been worried he'd comment on that. "Look, I'm not giving you all the juicy details, but let's just say he was convincing at portraying himself as something other than he was – very convincing. And when he got what he wanted he made it abundantly clear that was all he really after all along." He hated having to admit any of that, how Steve had absolutely played him for a fool. Reid had been brash and arrogant and so full of his own self-importance that he genuinely hadn't seen it coming – Steve had picked him perfectly. But he knew he had to give Luke something – the guy was too curious and he was the one who was going to have to keep play-acting as Reid's boyfriend.

That seemed to mean something to Luke, though, who tipped his head to one side and considered him a little sadly. "He really messed you up. Wait," he said, "is that why you hated me so much when you first got to town? Because I was another guy who was..."

"...manipulating me?" Reid finished. "Let's just say you didn't earn yourself any brownie points."

Quiet for a while, he eventually nodded decisively. "Okay – give me your number."

Wait, what? "Sorry?"

"We're dating, right?"

Right. "So we should have any each other's numbers." Reid started fishing his phone out of a pocket one-handed.

"Right," Luke agreed. "It'd be weird if we didn't, and it'll make it easier planning any fake-boyfriend shenanigans." Luke waggled his eyebrows, which was not in any way likeable.

Once their numbers were exchanged, Reid only then began to realise just how much this could affect Luke's life. "You're really sure about this? I mean...your whole life is in this town. Your family, friends...Noah. They're bound to find out at some point."

"I'm an adult," Luke announced almost proudly. "It's my life – my choice. Noah and I aren't together anymore, so it's really none of his business who I'm dating. Fake-dating," he added, as an afterthought.

Well, if he absolutely insisted, Reid wasn't a good enough person to turn him down. "In that case – brace yourself, Mr Snyder, I'm about to say something I almost never say to anyone."

"And what's that?"

He paused dramatically. "Thank you."

Grinning – genuinely, for once, most of the smiles he wore around Reid tended to be edged with sarcasm – Luke dipped his head down once. "You're welcome. But also?" he continued. "It's probably time you started calling me by my first name."

Good point. He'd become so used to addressing Luke as 'Mr Snyder' that Reid might actually find that a challenge. "Okay," he said deliberately, "Luke." Yeah, that felt really weird.

"Good," he replied brightly, "Reid." That felt even weirder. "Who knows?" he asked rhetorically, "maybe this will finally be the start of a beautiful friendship."

Somehow, Reid doubted it.

*

Work was the welcome distraction it always was – it was the one thing in life he'd always been able to rely on. He had rounds, first thing, then a couple of follow-up appointments – though luckily not with Noah, that day.

He was beginning to realise just how complicated this fake-dating business would be. Technically there was nothing wrong with him dating Luke, but he was a current patient's ex and that was undeniably messy. If he was really honest with himself he knew he never should've pretended to date Luke in the first place but he'd seen Steve and just – panicked.

Reid put on a good front, most of the time, but unfortunately even he was only human. Still, he'd done what he'd done and there was no getting out of it now – if he admitted what he'd done or suddenly he and Luke 'broke up' he'd look even more the fool.

It still rankled that, after all this time, he cared what Steve thought so much. Reid had sold the act that he didn't give a crap what anyone thought for such a long time that he'd begun to buy it himself. Yet all it had taken was for one asshole to roll into town and suddenly he was back there, when it happened, the betrayal so sudden and unexpected that he almost couldn't breathe.

From that one encounter alone Reid had had more than enough of having his emotions being used against him and he'd vowed to never let it happen again.

And it hadn't. Reid got to help people every day, had an amazing career, the prestige and recognition of his peers, and that was all he really needed.

Well, until Luke Snyder had come along. Now he was stuck in this hellhole...which, unfortunately, he'd begun to think wasn't that much of a hellhole. Clearly there was something in the water because, now that he'd been there for a couple of months, he actually quite liked working at Memorial. 90% of the residents of Oakdale were still certifiable, no doubt about that, but Katie and Jacob made up for a lot. Even Bob was okay, really. They maybe hadn't got to know each other under the best of circumstances – and even Reid had to admit that hadn't been his finest hour – but now that he'd chosen to stay rather than being forced, at least until Noah's surgery was complete, he'd seen a different side to the old man. Had begun to think that maybe he knew a few things about life that were worth listening to.

Yeah. There was definitely something in the water.

As if he knew Reid had just been thinking about him Bob suddenly appeared. "Ah, good," he began, turning to the guy behind him. "Reid, there's someone I'd like you to meet. Dr Reid Oliver, this is-"

Of course it was him. That was just the way Reid's day was going. "Steve Rogers," he muttered, taking in Steve's smarmy smile. "We've met." Steve actually held out his hand and Reid just stared at it dubiously. "You've got to be kidding."

"You already know each other?" Bob asked. "Well, that's wonderful news."

"It's really not," he remarked. "What are you even doing here, Steve?" He was annoyed at himself for not putting it together earlier – Steve had asked about Memorial, had even said he'd be around. He should've seen this coming.

"I told you I was here on business," Steve said, tone of voice nothing but charming. "Well, this is it. My company is interested in buying Memorial – help take it into the 21st century."

Oh, no way in hell. "Help drive it into the ground, you mean."

"Reid," Bob said in warning.

"Bob, I know this moron, okay? And I know you can't believe a single word he says." If Steve got his hands on Memorial, he'd ruin it – just like he ruined everything.

"I'm hurt you'd say that, Reid," Steve said, frowning with apparent sincerity – he was still convincing, unfortunately, though at least Reid knew better this time. Unfortunately, nobody else did. "I know how upset you were when I broke things off, but there's no need to ruin this opportunity for Memorial."

"Oh," Bob said in wonder, like he'd just realised exactly what was going on.

"Don't flatter yourself," Reid spat, "my concerns are entirely professional."

"And I hardly think your current boyfriend would appreciate you still being hung up on me," Steve observed. "Luke, wasn't it?"

"Luke?" Bob asked, aghast.

Reid crossed his arms. "Believe me when I say the last thing I am is hung up on you – especially when I have someone like Luke. You don't even begin to compare to him."

"Wait," Bob continued, "Reid, you're really dating Luke?"

Finally tearing his gaze away from Steve – annoyingly, there'd been no break in character at all, not even for a smug smile when Bob wasn't looking – Reid gave in and nodded. Time to commit, he supposed. "Yeah. It's...new. I wouldn't have used the word boyfriend myself yet," he admitted, because to make this look real they couldn't have been dating that long, "but it's definitely...something."

"Well," he began, clearly thinking it over, "I'd say I'm surprised, but honestly..." Bob shrugged. "This actually explains a lot."

Wait, what? "Oh?"

"Don't all the great ones start that way?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. "Thinking you hate each other when really it's just...chemistry?"

Of course Bob was a romantic. "Right," Reid said dryly, "chemistry."

"Sounds like a great romance," Steve said encouragingly. "I hope it works out." Reid just glared at him. "Anyway, Dr Hughes, I'd better go report in," he continued, offering Bob his hand. "I'll pass your comments on and get back to you. I'll be staying in town for a while, of course, as we work the details out. I very much hope that Memorial can become part of the Invicta family."

"As do I," Bob replied, shaking his hand.

Turning to Reid, Steve smiled pleasantly. "It was a surprise – and a pleasure – to see you again, Reid."

"Can't say the same," Reid drawled, and he'd long since had enough of this farce. "I need to get back to work." Gratefully taking the opportunity to escape, he fled.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long at all before Bob tracked him back down. "Reid," he began, "I can't say I appreciate the way you dealt with Mr Rogers."

"That's because you don't know him the way I do, Bob."

"Look, I understand that you had a personal relationship-"

Sighing, Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not because he broke up with me Bob – the man's a sociopath."

Eyes widening, he looked more than a little shocked. "That's quite a statement."

"It's the truth," he shrugged. "He'll act a certain way, pretend to be something he's not – and as soon as he gets what he's really after, then you'll see his true side. Trust me when I say it's not pretty."

Finally seeming to take Reid seriously, Bob studied him perceptively. "There's quite some history between you two."

"That's putting it mildly." He hadn't enjoyed explaining this to Luke and he didn't enjoy it now, either. "He betrayed me – personally and professionally." That was all his pride could stand to share right now. "He will do the same to you – to this hospital."

Taking in a deep breath, Bob eventually nodded. "Very well, Reid. In that case, I thank you for your candour. I'll make the board aware of your concerns and I'm sure they'll keep them in mind moving forward. We haven't agreed to anything yet, so everything is still very much theoretical at this point."

That was something, at least. "Good."

"Also..." he began cagily.

"Yes?"

Bob just said it. "Is Noah aware of the change in your and Luke's...relationship?"

Ah. That. "No," he admitted, spinning out the lie. "We'd been keeping things quiet while we were seeing if it...worked."

"Probably a smart move," he conceded. "Luke and Noah have their own complicated history. However," Bob went on, "as you seem to be going public now...probably better to tell Noah sooner rather than later, yes?"

Right. "Sure thing, Bob. Good idea."

The next time he had a moment he sent Luke a text, trying to explain everything in a message that wasn't a million words long. _Steve been at hospital, trying to buy it – needs to be stopped. Bob knows we're dating, says we should tell Noah._

After a moment's consideration, he then sent a second message. _And how's your morning been?_

Luke's response wasn't long in coming. _Not as interesting as yours, apparently._ Then a second message came through. _Busy atm but I'll try and visit at lunch so we can strategise._ Then a third message arrived. _Miss you, sweetie pie ;)_

Smiling despite himself, Reid shot back, _Not as much as I miss you, sugar lump._

In response, Luke sent back the puking emoji.

When Reid finally took his lunch break, he texted Luke that he'd be in the canteen. That was where Luke found him some twenty minutes later, dropping into the seat across from him with his own tray of food.

"We really need to work on your pet names," he complained as he got comfortable. "Sugar lump is never an appropriate pet name for anyone."

"In my defense I've never used pet names in my life – and I never seriously intend to."

"I haven't either," Luke admitted, opening his bottle of water. "But sugar lump? Come on." He took a sip of water. "You can do better than that."

"Darling?" he asked mockingly. "Sweetheart?"

"Better," Luke approved, putting his water down and starting on his mac and cheese. "So," he began impatiently, "give me all the details."

Finishing off his own food, Reid did just that. Luke listened attentively, only interrupting occasionally – sometimes for clarification, sometimes to comment what an ass Steve was. When Reid reached the part about Bob suggesting they tell Noah, he grew a little less animated, withdrawing into himself.

"I...get it, if you don't want to," Reid offered. "You two could still-"

"Oh, we are definitely over for good," Luke assured him, "I made that abundantly clear when he broke up with me for the third...fourth? Time." Okay, and Reid hadn't known anywhere near as much about their relationship as he'd thought he had. He had, quite honestly, been under the impression that Noah took Luke a little for granted, but he certainly hadn't known about their apparently very rocky history. "And though I personally don't feel I owe him anything anymore, it's the right thing to do telling him – if only because you're his doctor."

This whole act was going to have some very real life consequences. "You think he'll be okay with it?"

"Well, he and Richard are a thing already," Luke pointed out, not a little bitterly, "so if he's not okay with it I'll just shove his whole double-standard back in his face." Okay then. "Honestly, funny as this may sound, this is just what I need right now."

Well that made no sense. "Dating me?"

"Yeah," he admitted with a grin. "On the way to see you I bumped into Bob and of course he asked about you – about us. And it was...fun."

"Fun?"

"Waxing poetically about you," he joked, before clarifying, "being sneaky and underhanded. Noah never liked that side of me – always made me feel bad about it, made me feel bad about myself. But it is a part of me," he continued.

"Trust me, I know that already," Reid said with good humour. "I vividly remember how you got me here in the first place."

Making a face, Luke shrugged. "Right, stuff like that. Noah always hated it – unless it benefited him."

"And then he was just fine with it."

Luke nodded. "It doesn't always make me proud of myself, but it does make me feel...confident. Strong. I probably have some issues," he admitted, which wasn't a surprise for someone coming from this town. "But doing this? With you? It's a way to feel all that without actually hurting anyone. I enjoyed it this morning with Steve. I enjoyed it just now with Bob. And God knows, right now," he said wryly, "I need some fun in my life."

Reid honestly felt a lot better about this arrangement now that he knew it was mutually beneficial. They were both using each other but they were both aware of it – that worked out more than fine for him. "I can promise you," he told Luke, "being in a relationship with me is all kinds of fun."

"I'm sure," he replied, voice indicating he believed anything but. "We should probably talk limits, though – how far we're prepared to go to be convincing. I know we're both gay, but that doesn't mean we're both automatically going to be okay with faking intimacy with someone we're not actually close to-"

"I'd have no problem faking intimacy with you."

...and that may have come out a little too easily. What the hell?

"Oh," Luke said, blinking, looking confused. "Really?"

"I'm just being pragmatic," Reid explained, because clearly that was the only reason. "You're hot. Why wouldn't I want to get all up in that?"

Luke just kept blinking, face flushing. "I...you really...?" He paused. "Thank you?"

Reid just shook his head. "It's just physical. Honestly, it's another part of the reason you were so annoying when you first dragged me here. You'd ruined my entire life and you were annoyingly attractive."

"Oh," he responded blankly, honestly still seeming a little dazed. "That makes sense, I guess." Eventually getting over himself, Luke sat up straighter before nodding decisively. "I'd be okay with it, too. You're not exactly hard on the eyes either, you know."

Reid took the compliment. "I know."

"Unbelievable," Luke muttered, rolling his eyes – but they were both grinning. "So," he continued, "being in each other's personal space, hand holding, that kind of thing?"

"Personal space I can do," he agreed. "Never been much of a hand holder. Though if it's something people expect to see you doing with someone you're dating..."

"Maybe?" Luke shrugged, as he thought it over. "Even though it might seem kind of...immature, I always did like holding hands."

"Well, we'll give it a whirl," because why not? "We can use it as a sign of how you've tamed me," he joked, though there were probably some people who'd actually believe that.

"And what about..." Luke started hesitantly and Reid soon understood why. "Kissing?"

Reid was aware that, despite this entire conversation, that was a whole other level of intimacy. "That's down to you," he said honestly. "I'd have no problem kissing you but don't want you to force yourself to do something you're uncomfortable with just because of how stubborn you are."

"Me, stubborn?" he asked cheekily.

"When it's something you're focused on?" he quipped rhetorically, holding Luke's gaze. "Absolutely."

Giving in, Luke nodded – though he didn't look away from Reid. "I can handle anything you can handle," he said firmly, honestly just proving Reid's point for him. "In fact, I think I'm going to be much better at this relationship stuff than you are."

Reid smirked despite himself. "Is that a threat, Luke?"

He just grinned. "That's a promise, Reid. I mean, I only recently got out of a relationship – when's the last time you even dated anyone?"

"It's been a while, I'll admit," he conceded, "but it's quality, not quantity that matters. I can more than handle anything you throw at me."

"Well then," Luke announced, eyes darkening as he leant across the table, "may the best boyfriend win."

*

The next day, as part of his plan to prove he could be the best boyfriend on the face of the planet, Luke insisted on taking him to Metro. Reid agreed because one, Luke was paying for everything and two, they'd already decided they should be seen around town together on 'dates' to look more convincing.

Luke still looked annoyingly attractive, of course, only this time Reid didn't have to pretend he wasn't noticing. It was actually kind of freeing, to be honest and soon decided to take Luke at his word that he could handle anything Reid threw at him. Sliding up next to him the bar, unnoticed, Reid leaned in close.

"You look hot," he murmured into Luke's ear, an act that definitely made Luke jump around in surprise – and brought a flush to his face, if Reid wasn't mistaken.

"Thanks," he mumbled a little awkwardly, though it didn't take him long to adjust and get into the role, surprise smoothing out into apparent pleasure as he grabbed Reid's jacket and pulled him in close, eyes falling to Reid's mouth. "Missed you."

Reid very much liked how much Luke was committing – even though it might make it harder to prove that, in fact, he was the best boyfriend on the face of the planet. He was looking forward to seeing just what came next – a kiss would definitely be a normal reaction to greeting your own boyfriend, right? – when the bartender interrupted to take their order.

Tragically, they pulled apart.

A few minutes later they were sitting at a table together. As it turned out, Metro didn't do much in the way of food – little more than snacks, really. Luke was going to have to do much better next time if he wanted to keep Reid satisfied.

"So, I told Noah today," Luke said from across the table.

Pausing mid-sip, Reid raised his eyebrows before nodding in acknowledgement, swallowing. "And how did that go?"

"Actually...okay," he shrugged, looking surprised. "He wasn't thrilled, but when I pointed out he was already dating someone too, there wasn't much he could say about it. Although," he made a wry face, "he tried at first."

"Yeah," Reid said, "my next appointment with him isn't going to be awkward at all."

"Hey, this was all your idea," Luke pointed out, "you only have yourself to blame."

"I didn't exactly see you rushing to say no."

"True," he gave in. "But like I said – it's fun."

"Being devious and underhanded, yes," Reid remarked.

"Clearly you find that attractive," Luke shot back with a grin. "So," he continued, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand to stare across at Reid 'adoringly', "how was your day, pumpkin?"

Pet names again, was it? Reid could roll with that. "Let me tell you all about it," he mirrored Luke's pose, "poopy-face."

Luke actually laughed at loud.

Pleased with himself, Reid grinned, sat back and actually started telling Luke about his day – they had to kill the time somehow and just sitting there in silence would make it look like one hell of a crappy date.

Luke actually seemed interested, too – which could've been an act, but he was asking insightful questions about Reid's job so maybe it was actual interest. As it turned out, once he started Luke had a lot of questions about the kind of work Reid did, even sometimes using terminology Reid was honestly surprised to hear him use.

"I did do my research, you know," Luke admitted, "when I was first trying to convince you to come here. I may not be a medical super genius," he continued, gesturing across to Reid, "but I'm no slouch."

"Never thought you were," he replied instantly, because while he'd accused Luke of many things, being dumb wasn't one of them. Too driven by his emotions, perhaps, but certainly not unintelligent. "Go on, then – your turn." Reading Luke's confused expression, he explained. "Tell me about your job and exactly what you do at this foundation of yours."

Reid already had some idea – he'd done his own research, too – but it was much more interesting hearing about it straight from the source, rather than reading some dull webpage. And, amazingly enough, it was more than just a little interesting. Luke spoke about the foundation with such passion and determination it automatically made Reid give a crap about it, too. It was honestly surprising when he realised that he'd never heard Luke talk about it before, barely even in passing. All of their conversations in the past had usually been focused around Noah and, while understandable – he was the reason Reid had been dragged there in the first place, after all – it was honestly refreshing to see and hear Luke being so engaged with something else.

He really was more than 'Noah's boyfriend'.

Or 'the bane of Reid's life'.

"I had a...difficult time, coming out," Luke admitted, eventually. "If I can make other LGBT kids' lives a bit easier, even just a little, then it's all worth it."

Reid had been wanting to prove for years that he could cope with anything by himself, but the idea of having support for LGBT kinds was undeniably a worthy one. "You think it'll make up for it somehow?"

Luke paused, as if he'd never considered that. "I don't know. Maybe? I just know..." he shrugged. "It's the right thing to do."

Damn him. Luke was actually making Reid feel glad that he had all that money, so he could keep spending it on that damn foundation. Life was so much easier when there were no grey areas and he could just keep thinking of Luke as the spoiled rich kid.

In all honesty, he hadn't thought that was the truth for a long time now.

"So what happened?" Reid asked, curious. "When you came out?"

Shrugging, Luke's face fell and he stared down at his drink. Reid was starting to feel bad, for once, and was about to offer an out when Luke finally replied.

"Mom and Damian tried to send me to a straight camp."

He honestly had to take a few moments to deal with that. Taking them, he blinked and then managed to produce a few words. "And you still have a relationship with them?" Damian, he could definitely see doing something that underhanded. But Lily? She'd always been so supportive of Luke and Noah's relationship that just the idea made his mind boggle.

"It's...complicated." No kidding. "We're all past it now," he assured Reid, "but it was...terrifying for a while."

"Of course it was," he shot back. "Jesus, you were just a kid and that's how they treated you?" He'd thought this more than once, but seriously – what was wrong with the residents of this town?

"Reid, honey," Luke grinned, apparently getting back into character – he'd honestly forgotten about that, for a while. "It's okay, now." Reaching across the table, he placed his hand on top of Reid's. "It's ancient history."

Still feeling affronted – somewhat surprisingly – on Luke's behalf, Reid decided it'd be easy enough to use that in-character, too. Turning his hand over, he took Luke's and threaded their fingers together. "They try and do that to you now," he said darkly, "they'll have me to deal with."

"I know," Luke said happily, apparently still amused by all of it, so Reid decided to step it up a notch.

Bringing his own hand – and subsequently Luke's, which he was still holding – up to this mouth, Reid held Luke's gaze as he pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. It was old-fashioned, perhaps, but definitely romantic and he watched in satisfaction as the smile disappeared from Luke's face – though, sadly, only for a moment. He could literally see the nano-second Luke decided he wasn't about to let Reid get the better of him and he waited, with interest, to see exactly what was about to happen next.

"So," Luke began, glancing off to one-side, "why don't we-?"

"Luke?" a voice interrupted, taking Reid out of the little bubble they'd cocooned themselves in so effectively that his brain had to scramble to keep up for a few moments.

Seeming shocked himself, Luke turned to look up at the newcomer. "Grandma," he said, and though clearly surprised, didn't let go of Reid's hand. If anything, he tightened his grip.

Reid could roll with that. "I've never met a grandparent before," he 'confided' to Luke, well aware that his grandmother was listening to every word. "Is there some protocol I should be aware of?"

"Just be your charming self," he said through gritted teeth, before talking to his grandmother. "Hi, Grandma. What are you doing here?"

"Just meeting with some business associates," she said absently but apparently couldn't stop herself from staring at Reid. He understood the impulse – he was a fascinating guy. "The far more interesting question is what you're doing here."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Luke did the introductions. "Grandma, this is Reid Oliver. Reid, this is Lucinda Walsh – my Grandma."

"Oh, the doctor," Lucinda remarked, clearly recognising his name. "I haven't had the pleasure. Though, apparently," she threw a glance towards their joined hands, "you have." 

"Grandma," Luke hissed, obviously embarrassed.

Reid just grinned.

"Oh, come now," she replied. "You're dating a doctor – Noah's doctor – and haven't told me a thing about it? I think I'm entitled to have a little fun."

"I haven't told you anything because it's still new, okay? We're still...working things out."

"Things seem plenty worked out to me," she observed, glancing at their hands again.

"It's more Luke who needs to work things out, really," Reid said, playing the patient new boyfriend to the best of his ability. "He has all that history with Noah, you know and..." he sighed, forlorn. "It isn't easy, but I think he's worth it."

It worked, of course. Lucinda looked utterly charmed. Luke looked furious – though his expression soon smoothed out into something less obvious.

"I don't think there's much to think about here," Lucinda encouraged. "You know I was...fond of Noah, in my own way, but some of the things you told me about him...well," she continued, "you know how pleased I was when that finally ended for good. Maybe Reid is what you really need right now. I have to say," Lucinda added thoughtfully, "this certainly explains why you kept talking about him all the time. I thought you just hated him."

Game face firmly in place, Luke now didn't look embarrassed by any of it. "It's true that I...hid my true feelings," he 'admitted'. "And honestly, Grandma, it's not even the Noah thing anymore, not really. It's just that," he looked over at Reid, faking an apologetic look, "he's so, so much older than me."

Oh, nicely done. Reid gave him a tiny nod in acknowledgement of a job well done.

Luke nodded back. "I just don't know if, practically, we can make it work."

Lucinda thought it over. "While part of me – especially being an older woman myself – wants to say that age is just a number, the practical side of me admits that could be an issue, eventually. One the two of you are going to have to work out between you. One piece of advice I would give?" she said seriously, looking between them. "Life is too short – take the chance while you can. Even if it doesn't work out in the long run, I say that's worse than never trying at all."

Hearing a voice call her name, she turned towards a table of people and waved. "That's my cue," she announced, turning back to them. "The two of you have a lovely evening and," she focused on Luke, "I expect to hear all the details later. Dr Oliver," she acknowledged.

"Miss Walsh," he replied respectfully, then watched as Lucinda walked away. "I've gotta give you some credit," he began once he was sure she was out of hearing range, "it took you a while to warm up, but you are good at this."

"I am Damian Grimaldi's son," Luke pointed out, which was fair. "I do feel kind of bad lying to Grandma of all people, though," he admitted. "She's always believed in me, you know? Even when I didn't believe in myself." They sounded close. "Then again," he added with a grin, "I know she got into a lot of trouble herself, in the old days. She'd probably approve." Seeming reassured, he took a sip of his drink. "You know the sad thing?" he asked rhetorically. "This is honestly the most fun I've had on a date in forever. And it's not even real," Luke finished, shaking his head in wonder.

That was a little surprising – but then when he thought about Noah, maybe it wasn't. "You and Noah didn't go out much?"

Luke shook his head again. "Before the accident, he'd been working for ages on this new project for college and was spending virtually all his free time with his college advisor, Mason. We finally had a place together, you know? Our own space where we could...be alone." Alone clearly meant 'have sex'. "We wouldn't constantly have Mom or Dad looking over our shoulder, or be worried that one of the kids was about to burst in. And..." he shrugged, sadly. "He was never there."

The answer seemed obvious enough to Reid. "That's because he was an idiot."

"Reid..."

"Hey, now," he argued, "as your current boyfriend it's my job – hell, my duty – to point out what a moron your ex was. Is. Making some crappy film or spending time in bed with you? There's no contest."

Luke stared at him flatly, even though he was a little embarrassed. "That's sweet, Reid, but I know how much your work means to you. Say you'd invented some amazing new neurological technique but you had to work on it after hours – are you honestly saying that wouldn't come first?"

"What I'm saying is that I have pioneered amazing new neurological techniques – and I was dating someone at the time."

That honestly seemed to catch Luke off-guard. "Wait, really?"

"Yes, really." It was Steve, but that didn't need pointing out right now. "And it didn't kill our relationship. Because – while, yes, I did spend a lot of time working on it – I didn't spend as much time as I could have on it because even I know you make time for someone if you care about them. If Noah wasn't doing that for you at all? Well, then, that was just him being a selfish asshole."

Falling silent, for a while, Luke started looking all sad and stuff. Reid found he didn't like that at all, and looked for a way to distract him. "What were you going to say earlier?"

Luke frowned at him. "Sorry?"

"Just before your grandmother arrived, you were about to say something."

Thinking back on the conversation, Luke eventually remembered. "Oh, I was jokingly going to suggest we dance," he said, gesturing to the dance floor where a few couples were dancing to the inoffensive jazz being played in the background.

Reid could cope with that. Standing, he held out a hand. "Shall we?"

"Seriously?" Luke studied Reid – and his hand – dubiously. "Honestly, I was just hoping you didn't know how to dance and I'd catch you being less than perfect at something."

"Unfortunately for you, I know what I'm doing," Reid said, hand still extended. "I've had to schmooze more than a few donors at more than a few fundraisers. What about you?" he questioned. "They teach you to dance at rich-boy school?"

Back straightening, Luke took his hand and pulled himself up. "And then some," he announced, leading Reid over to the dance floor.

This was much more like it, as far as Reid was concerned. Luke was so much more fun when he wasn't moping over Noah.

It was a little awkward at first with both of them technically meant to lead, though they soon found a happy medium and it actually felt kind of...nice, in the end. That probably had a lot to do with the way they kept grinning at each other. For his part, Reid just found it profoundly amusing that anyone looking at them right now thought this was actually real. Seeing the way Luke's attractive face kept smiling at him didn't exactly hurt, either.

When the music slowed down it was only natural that their dancing slowed too, as they instinctively moved even closer together – it'd only look weird if they didn't. Eventually they ended up doing little more than shuffling in a circle and though Reid didn't usually do this kind of crap with guys he was dating, Luke probably did and it was certainly helping them sell the idea they were dating.

It honestly felt good, too – Luke's warm, firm, attractive body pressed up against his. It had been a while for Reid, and he certainly appreciated being close to someone he was attracted to. And, in all honesty, when Luke drew his head back to stare at Reid's mouth, he knew what he needed to do.

Holding Luke's gaze for a moment, silently asking for permission, there was barely a hesitation when Luke nodded.

Reid had been intending to kiss Luke briefly, because at that point it would've looked strange if they hadn't kissed at all.

Luke got there first, sliding his hands up to Reid's head and bringing their mouths together for a much firmer – and deeper – kiss.

Not that Reid was complaining, enjoying the rasp of Luke's stubble against his skin, the heat and pressure of his mouth. Honestly, he could've happily kept kissing for a while but Luke ended the kiss himself, pleased with himself as he kept grinning in Reid's face, hands playing with Reid's hair.

"Have to make it look good," he said quietly, "for Grandma."

Right, of course.

For Lucinda.


	2. Chapter 2

It all came back to bite Reid in the ass when he got home from work the next day – namely in the form of one Katie Peretti who seemed to literally spring out of the woodwork as he hung up his jacket.

Well, tried to.

"Jesus," he muttered, flinching away, instinctively holding the jacket in front of him protectively.

"Hi, Reid," she said intensely, and not a little creepily. She really had that scary eye thing going on.

"Blondie," he greeted, finally hanging the jacket up. He had a pretty good idea what this was about already. "Good day at work? How's Jacob's ear infection?"

"Oh no you don't, mister," she warned. "You are not getting out of this by being all...nice." True, that wasn't his strongest trait.

Brushing passed her, he made a break for the sofa so at least he didn't feel so cornered. "Okay," he gave in, gesturing towards himself as he sat down, "throw it at me."

Rather than get right to the point, though, she drew it out as she slowly stepped over towards him. "Is there anything you...I don't know...want to tell me?"

Reid looked her over. "Your roots need doing."

"Reid," she huffed out, "I'm being serious."

"So am I." They really did need a touch-up.

"You and _Luke?_ " she exclaimed, throwing her hands to the side, finally just getting to it. "How could you not tell me this?"

So she had heard, then. "Because it's none of your business?"

"Of course it is," she argued, throwing herself down next to him. "We're friends, Reid, and we live together. I've told you so much about Brad – how could you not tell me about this?"

Great, now he felt like an ass. It wasn't an unusual feeling for him, admittedly, but he didn't like that it was Katie he was upsetting. "Look, the thing between me and Luke is nothing like it was for you and Brad, okay? You and Brad were...serious," he acknowledged, long knowing this was the one area he had to tread carefully about with her. "Luke and I are just having fun." That wasn't a lie, at least. Luke wasn't the only one who found the experience of fooling everyone enjoyable – Reid had thoroughly enjoyed himself the evening before.

It probably said a lot about him – about them – that they both wanted to keep living this lie than facing the crap that was going on in their lives, but everyone deserved to have a little fun, right? Even him.

"It was just...such a surprise when I heard," Katie told him. "You used to complain about him so much. Mind you," she said contemplatively, "now that I think about it, you did use the phrase 'annoyingly attractive' a lot of times."

"He still is," he nodded. "How does one guy look that good, every single day?"

"And 'spoiled rich kid'?"

"Still is, in his own way," Reid acknowledged, "though he does largely use his powers for good instead of evil, I'll give him that much. Do you know all the different things that foundation of his actually does?" Reid still found it remarkable, honestly, that someone as young as Luke had accomplished so much already. True, it was only because he had access to so much money, but at least he was using it for something that actually benefited others. Reid started going on, at length, about everything Luke had told him about the foundation the night before, when he noticed the way Katie was grinning at him.

"And then he...what are you smiling at? It's creepy."

It only got wider – and creepier. "You really do have a thing for Luke."

Feeling absurdly uncomfortable, Reid was about to shake the idea off when he realised he didn't have to. He was supposed to like Luke. "Well, clearly. Otherwise we wouldn't be dating."

"No, I mean," Katie began, shifting next to him, "you said you were just having fun. I thought maybe you were just being Luke's rebound after Noah-"

"Thanks."

"-or that you were just having hate sex or something-"

"Sadly, none of that going on just yet."

"But you actually like him," she concluded. "A lot."

Reid felt stupidly caught out and defensive for some reason. "Yeah, and?"

"It's just nice, that's all," she confided. "I know you haven't talked about your own ex's much but I pieced together enough to know that someone hurt you, badly." She didn't look sad for him, exactly – more understanding. Reid had to look away anyway. "I'm just glad that hasn't stopped you from trying."

"Right," he cleared his throat, still looking away. "Yeah."

"So, come on," she said cheerily, moving on as she slapped his arm, "give me the details! How did it start?"

This was still better than thinking about Steve, so he made himself respond. "He was always around, you know, because of Noah. And at first I just – hated him. He was always underfoot and his hair always looked so stupid. But then as I got to know him I realised he did what he did for a good reason – because he cares so much."

"Aww," Katie observed, tipping her head to one side.

Realising he'd probably been going on a bit too much, Reid quickly moved on. "Anyway, even after he and Noah split I kept seeing him around everywhere and..." he shrugged. "You know how these things are. It just...happened."

"So nothing happened before he and Noah-?"

"God, no," he interrupted. "Even I'm not that much of a dick." Reid had honestly never had any interest in starting something with someone who was already in a relationship.

"How long have you been seeing each other?"

"Just a couple of weeks, really. We'd been keeping it...subtle, while we worked things out."

"Until last night."

"Until last night," he agreed.

"When, as I understand it, things got hot and heavy between the two of you at Metro." Katie leered at him knowingly.

Oh, for goodness sake. "The gossip in this town is really quite remarkable."

"How fast it works?"

"And how wrong they get it," he added. "It was one kiss – it was hardly 'hot and heavy'." He thought about it. "Not that my kissing skills aren't awesome."

"No doubt," she retorted. "And I'm sure Luke is very glad about that fact."

"Obviously," he agreed, because he hadn't been exaggerating about his skill when it came to kissing. He more than knew what he was doing.

So did Luke, as he vividly remembered.

"So were you actually slow dancing?" Katie asked next. "Or was that something the gossip mill got wrong, too?"

"No," he admitted, not enjoying the way she seemed to be literally vibrating next to him. "That happened." Reid stared at Katie and her disturbing grin. "Okay," he conceded, "what is it?"

"Oh, you know," she said deceptively casually, "still really doesn't sound like two guys who are just 'having fun'."

Really? "Full offense, Katie, but you're not a guy – and certainly not a gay guy. I think it's down to me and Luke to decide what we're doing."

"Absolutely," she agreed, far too easily. "Except that you already admitted that you have a thing for him. And that he cares about people a lot. And-"

"Well he's also a dick," Reid pointed out, "which is probably the real reason we get on so well." He honestly thought that was the truth. While Luke's goody two-shoes side definitely had it's own appeal, it was his dark side that was far more entertaining. He'd thoroughly enjoyed how they'd metaphorically butted heads last night, trying to outdo each other in the boyfriend stakes. He'd even forgotten, for a while, just why they were doing it at all.

"Well that makes much more sense," Katie said sarcastically, because she'd seen through him almost from the beginning.

"I know, right?" he replied instead, standing up and deciding it was time to put an end to this interrogation. "Anyway, I'm starving-" His phone went off. "Probably Luke," he said absently, because no one else ever really texted him. Pausing, he pulled it out of the pockets of his pants and confirmed that it was, indeed, from Luke.

Having fully committed to the role, Luke had been texting him on and off all day. It was always something a little too cheesy, a little too over-emotional – no doubt on purpose – about how much fun he'd had last night, how much he was missing Reid today. Reid knew it was all bullshit because, well, Luke could be just as much of a dick as he was, and every single text ended with that kissy-face emoji.

Luke was clearly having a grand old time pretending to fall for Reid, so it only seemed right for Reid to get in on the action – he didn't want to miss out on any of the fun himself. As a doctor Reid couldn't check his messages whenever he wanted, but when he did get the time he always sent some kind of response to Luke's message. He even sent an emoji, which he honestly thought he'd never sent before in his life, but that 'stars in my eyes' emoji was just too good to pass up.

Of course, he also wanted to be better than Luke even at this and found the time to quickly compose a haiku about the shade of Luke's eyes – that was the message Luke was finally responding to now. Either something had kept him busy for the past couple of hours, or he'd been trying – and failing – to think up a stunning retort.

It was the latter.

 _You win_ , Luke's message read. _You're far more romantic than I'll ever be._

A second message underneath simply read, _...or are you?_

Nothing else seemed to be coming after that, so Reid simply shrugged and replied, _You were right the first time._ Putting his phone away, Reid clapped his hands together. "Dinner."

"I'll cook," Katie volunteered, getting to her feet.

Not that he was about to complain, but... "It's my turn." They usually ate together, most nights.

"Yes, it is," she agreed as she moved across to the kitchen, "but your idea of cooking is slinging one of those TV dinners into the microwave."

"It is not food?" he asked, honestly a little offended as he followed behind her. "Is it not edible?"

"That's a matter of opinion," she said dryly, turning the oven on. "Honestly," Katie said as she faced him, "I'm amazed that a doctor eats the way you do." This wasn't the first time she'd commented on his diet. "You'd think you of all people would know better."

"Well, when you've been blessed with a metabolism as amazing as mine, you'd eat whatever you wanted, too." Reid wasn't really joking – even half-way into his thirties, he'd barely had to adjust what he ate. Not that he was a complete slob – he did yoga and did eat some fruit and vegetables, it was just usually part of some pre-prepared meal he could cook easily and quickly. He was a busy man – he'd never really had the time, or interest, in learning how to cook.

"That won't last forever, you know," Katie pointed out. "At some point it's all going to catch up with you." She seemed particularly delighted at the prospect. "And then how will you keep Luke interested?"

He knew what she was going for, but it wasn't going to work. Reid just rolled his eyes. "Luke doesn't care about that stuff."

She stared at him knowingly. "Not even when he's surrounded by hot, young guys his own age? And all he has to compare them to is his much older boyfriend?"

Wow. "You are evil."

"I can be," she agreed, opening the fridge. "Now, I'm going to make you a huge portion of fresh vegetables and you're going to eat all of it."

Reid thought about it for a moment. "I'll help you chop." He was just reaching for a knife when there was a knock on the door. Surprised, he abandoned the quest for a knife and went to see who it was instead. "I'll get it."

He regretted that choice the moment he swung open the door because there, standing in the doorway to their apartment, was a beleagured-looking delivery guy, struggling under the weight of an enormous display of flowers.

"Help," he pleaded and Reid moved forward instinctively, helping the guy lean the flowers up against the door frame.

"Katie," he called out, because that was a ridiculous amount of flowers, "are these from that fan again? I'll repeat what I said the first time – you need to get a post office box. That said," he shrugged, inspecting the flowers as Katie came over, "he has to be loaded because these must've cost a-"

Oh, no. Of _course_.

He was an idiot.

"Actually," the delivery guy said, pulling a piece of paper out, "these are for Reid Oliver." He stared at Reid hopefully. "Please tell me that's you."

"Yep," he drawled, "that's me."

"Thank God," the guy said, no doubt relieved at not having to lug the flowers anywhere else.

As Katie made it over to them, her hand went up to her mouth. "Oh my God."

"I also have to read this to you," Delivery Guy said. "It's a...little unusual, but he paid me a huge tip for the fast delivery and this, so..." Shrugging, he unfolded the piece of paper and started reading aloud. "Dearest Reid..."

"Oh my God," Katie repeated.

Overcoming the shock and appreciating all the effort Luke had gone to, Reid finally started to smile.

"I was trying to think of a way to show you how much you mean to me," Delivery Guy continued reading, "so this seemed like a good start. You bring me so much joy and make me laugh, every single day. My heart literally races when you come near. It amazes me how things have changed since we first met, but I'm so happy they have. I can hardly believe that the man who once told me he hoped I'd choke on the silver spoon in my mouth-"

"You actually said that?" Katie asked quietly.

"He deserved it."

"-is the same man," Delivery Guy went on, after a brief pause, "that I now get to date. Who opens up to me in ways I never expected. I still can't believe you told me about that one night stand who gave you gonorrhoea."

"Okay, wow," Katie remarked.

Absolutely entertained, Reid just started quietly laughing.

"It lets me know that I can tell you anything without judgement, too," Delivery Guy continued, "so here I am, telling you that I think I'm falling in love with you." Delivery Guy tried to look at him like he meant it, but Reid couldn't really blame him for failing. "Also?" he read. "Mom wants you to come over for dinner."

Finally finished, Delivery Guy folded the piece of paper and held it out to him.

"Congrats, dude," Delivery Guy said afterwards, punching Reid on the arm. "There's not a lot of guys who'd be that understanding."

Reid made a face, then realised he should probably give the guy a tip himself. He was already reaching for his wallet when the guy held up his hands.

"No, it's okay – trust me, that's more than been taken care of. He didn't want you paying for anything at all. Well, uh," he said awkwardly, "that's me done. Hope it all works out for you."

Dragging the flowers further into the apartment, Reid shut the door in his face.

Staring at the flowers, now propped up against a bookcase, he just shook his head in amazement.

"That's Luke for you," Katie said encouragingly, rubbing his arm, "he's never done relationships half-way."

Apparently Luke didn't do anything half-way and Reid could honestly only keep standing there, stunned, knowing he'd been completely outplayed.

And he'd loved every single second of it.

*

"You have to call him," Katie urged, when they'd both gotten over the shock.

He did need to call Luke – to congratulate him on a job well done. Even Reid could appreciate other people's brilliance. But he couldn't exactly say that to Katie. "What for?"

"This a huge gesture, Reid," she explained frantically, "Luke's really taken a chance, here. You have to let him know your true feelings, whether you feel the same way or not – he's probably beside himself waiting to hear back from you. You can't keep him waiting, whatever your reply is."

God save him from romantic room mates. 

"Call him," she insisted again.

"Wait, right now?"

"Yes, right now," she rolled her eyes, shoving Reid towards his bedroom. "I'll go do...something with the flowers, you go call Luke." When he still hadn't really gone anywhere, she made a shooing motion in his direction. "Go!"

"You need to get out more," he said, but did escape to his room. Closing the door – ostensibly for privacy – Reid pulled out his phone and sat on the edge of the bed. Unlocking his phone, he went to his recent calls and hit Luke's name.

He knew exactly what he was going to say.

"You got them?" was the first thing Luke asked when he answered the call.

"Oh, I got them," he replied, "and I have to admit I'm impressed. There aren't many people who can go toe-to-toe with me."

"Why thank you," Luke said, sounding justifiably smug.

"Katie thinks I'm in here right now either confessing my undying love or breaking up with you."

"That's extreme."

"Yeah, but your little letter didn't leave us much in the way of wiggle room, did it? Falling in love with me? Really?"

"Hey, it's the natural progression of our amazing relationship. If we really want this to look convincing..."

He was right and Reid knew it. "You didn't have to do it in such a...dramatic way."

"Well, of course I didn't," he retorted, sounding amused, "that was just for fun. I wish I could've seen your face..." Luke's voice drifted off as he was probably trying to envision it.

"It was a picture, I'll give you that much."

"I bet," he said happily. "Of course, now I have to contend with whatever romantic horrors you're going to dream up."

"Me?" Reid asked innocently. "Even I couldn't possibly surpass the cheesy romance of what you just pulled off."

"True," Luke agreed, much too easily. "I'm sure that kind of romantic openness is beyond you."

He might as well have just said he was going to try and use reverse psychology. "You really think I'm going to fall for that?"

"Okay," Luke admitted after a few moments, "so that was a little obvious. I just..." Stepping back from their little competition, he spoke seriously. "I meant what I said the other day. This honestly has been so much fun. Oh my God, Reid, when I was typing up that letter for you I was just sitting there laughing to myself the entire time. I haven't been that happy in..." he paused as he thought about it, "...I don't know how long. Pretty pathetic, I guess," he mused, "that I'm happier with a fake boyfriend who used to hate me than I ever was with an actual boyfriend."

Reid honestly thought they said so much more about Noah than anything else. "Yeah, well, I'm the one who wanted a fake boyfriend in the first place so if you're pathetic then so am I."

"Wow, Reid," Luke said, sounding mockingly amazed, "are you actually trying to make me feel better? First you compliment my romancing skills and now this? Careful," he grinned, "or people will start thinking you actually like me or something."

The truth of it was, he already did. Despite everything, he'd actually come to like Luke Snyder. "Isn't that the point?"

"Oh, of course," Luke said easily, "I'm sure you complimenting me when no one else is around is for the benefit of other people."

Okay, so he didn't like him that much. "I will concede," he said, "that you're not as terrible to spend time with as I initially thought."

"Stop, stop," he insisted, "I can't handle all this flattery."

"Well you either want compliments or you don't," Reid shot back, "having it both ways is just greedy."

Luke paused and it wasn't long before Reid discovered why. "That sounds...dirty," he confessed.

How old was Luke again? "Only if you have a dirty mind. That says a lot about you, Mr Snyder."

Apparently, he'd decided to ignore that comment – which was probably wise. It was honestly more flirtatious that Reid had intended.

"What I was going to say," Luke said instead, "is that...you're not so bad, either. I wouldn't even mind if you stuck around after you bring Noah's sight back."

That wasn't something Reid had seen coming. "Praise indeed," he remarked, still thinking about that. "Though you know I'm leaving as soon as he can see again."

There was a brief pause. "I know," Luke said, "which is why I thought I should point it out."

"That's a rapid turnaround."

"Hey, you make a guy laugh and it forgives a lot," he offered. "Besides, this whole thing has made me realise we're not all that different."

This probably didn't bode well. "How so?"

"We both have problematic exes. We both have a lot of insecurities because of it," he confessed and yeah, it really hadn't boded well. "I always thought you didn't give a crap what anyone thought," Luke said, "but seeing how you reacted to Steve made he realise you're human, just like the rest of us. I mean," he went on, "I kind of knew that already? I just didn't want to see it. You'd been such a jerk to me-"

"With good reason."

"Not arguing that," he replied. "But the point was that I didn't want to see the human side of you. Before."

"But you do now?"

"Well it does make you much more interesting," he admitted. "I kind of wanna know what makes you tick, now."

"Oh?" Since when did Reid get so damn fascinating? Other than by existing at all, of course.

"Yeah," Luke confirmed. "Can't help but wonder if the reason you're so...you is because of what Steve did to you."

This conversation had already been pushing Reid's limits for some time, but now Luke had firmly struck against them. "That's giving him more credit than he deserves – you don't even know what he did."

"No, but I know he screwed you over somehow – and you were together at the time. That's enough to mess anyone up."

Reid's voice tightened. "Don't think you know me because of one fake date."

Luke sighed heavily. "And there you go with the overly-defensive stuff. I'm not gonna use this against you, you know. After the things you already know about me, that'd be seriously counterproductive."

Rather than just reacting, Reid forced himself to think about it. They did have a lot of stuff on each other at this point – he was probably safe. "So," he began, wildly changing topics because this one needed to be done with now, "dinner with mom, huh?"

Luke took a few moments playing catch up. "Yeah, if you're up for it."

"I assure you, I'm up for-"

"Now who's the one with the dirty mind?"

"Come on, anyone would've found that dirty."

"I dunno," Luke said, sounding amused as he brought them back around to the subject, "probably not my mom."

Speaking of... "Were you the one who told her about us?"

"The gossip got to her first," Luke said. "Suddenly I had an urgent phone call and interrogation."

"She wasn't happy about it, I take it?" He knew she'd always been a big fan of Noah's.

"Not thrilled," he admitted, "though mostly it seemed to be because you're Noah's doctor. She thought it was...inappropriate."

It probably wasn't the most appropriate thing in the world, but they weren't breaking any rules. "She knows you and Noah aren't together anymore, right?"

"She does," Luke admitted carefully, "but I think she's hoping we'll get back together. I've told her that's really not happening, but..."

That was definitely weird. "Your mom has an unhealthy fixation on your relationship with him."

Silence greeted him for a few seconds. "My instinctive response is to be annoyed at you, but even I've thought the same thing. I think she's tied it all in with her relationship with dad and that's complicated enough," he explained. "They're not together at the moment but Mom wants to be."

Yeah, definitely unhealthy, but he'd probably insulted Luke's mom enough for one day. "Well, after having one fantastic meal with me I'm sure she'll forget all about old Noel."

"Noah."

"Right."

Luke sounded happy, at least. "You sure you're really up for this? Pretending to be on a date is one thing, but you'll have to actually make nice with my family."

"I can be nice."

"Since when?"

Rude. "Do you think I really got to this stage in my career without having learned how to sufficiently brown nose?"

"Just seemed like you'd think it was beneath you, that's all."

"I do," he agreed, "but sometimes even I have to do things I don't like – like coming to Oakdale, for example."

"Ha ha," Luke said dryly, knowing he was the one responsible. 

"So, come on. When and where am I putting myself through this ordeal?"

After they'd confirmed details, Reid ended the call, opened his door and wasn't surprised to find Katie suspiciously lurking around nearby. "Were you listening?"

"Unsuccessfully," she said without shame. "So, come on! Tell me how it went."

She really did need to get out more if this was her greatest form of entertainment. Then again, Reid's greatest form of entertainment at the moment was his fake boyfriend so he really wasn't one to talk. "We're still together. That's all you need to know."

"I knew it," she crowed. "There was something about the way you spoke about him...I knew you wouldn't give up on him."

He must've been even more convincing than he'd imagined. "He's worth trying."

"Of course he is," Katie encouraged. "And, just for that, I'm going to make you dessert, too."

Wow. This relationship stuff really was giving him the best of everything.

*

The next day, Reid went through work still in a remarkably good mood. Whenever his mind wasn't occupied with the job he couldn't stop thinking about the evening before and just how much Luke continued to amuse and impress him.

Sadly, he then remembered that he had an appointment with Noah that day. He'd been a little concerned about Noah's reaction but it all seemed to start reasonably enough. Noah arrived – not seeming too happy, admittedly – Reid told him where the chair was and asked him to take a seat. He'd started writing the date on the paperwork when Noah brought the subject up.

"So, you and Luke."

Pausing his note-taking, Reid glanced across at him. "Yes, we exist."

"Come on, Dr Oliver," Noah began, "you know what I mean."

Putting his pen down, he knew there was no getting out of this. "We're dating, yes, but that's all I have to say on the matter."

"That's all? Really?"

Okay, so maybe he could give a little more. "I understand that makes this situation a little...unorthodox."

"Because he's my ex-boyfriend."

'Ex' being the operative term there," he told Noah. "You're not together anymore – neither of us are doing anything wrong. Plus, aren't you dating somebody else?"

"You mean Richard?" he asked. "I mean, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, we are," Noah confirmed, "but it's not...going anywhere, you know? It's casual. It's just easy with Richard because we don't have all that history that Luke and I have."

Reid had honestly had no opinion of Richard at all previously. Now he just felt sorry for him. "Is he aware that it's not going anywhere?"

"Sure!" He paused. "I think."

"Regardless, whether you're dating anyone or not, you and Luke are certainly not together anymore so he's free to do what he wants. And, as I understand it," because apparently he needed reminding, "you were the one who gave him the opportunity in the first place."

"Yeah, I did break up with him – I guess that was my fault. But I always thought we'd get back together, just like we always have before," Noah explained. "It was Luke who said he couldn't do it anymore, that this time it was final."

Reid had heard a lot by now, but hadn't been privy to every single detail of Luke and Noah's split. Pleased, he nodded. "Good for him."

"Really?" Noah asked.

"Yes, really," he said bluntly. "He wasn't getting what he needed, so he moved on – finally put himself first."

Glaring, Noah crossed his arms. "Of course you'd say that."

"Well, obviously. I'm the one who benefited from your mistakes."

"Unbelievable." He shook his head in apparent disgust.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Noah – I always said I'd never lie to you and I never will. Admittedly, I was talking about your medical care at the time, but the point remains the same. You messed up," he announced, "I benefited from it, I'm still going to perform your surgery brilliant."

"Which is the only reason I'm even still talking to you, to be honest," Noah told him. "When Luke first told me, well...I wanted nothing to do with you. But he was right, what he said – you're still the only one who has a chance at giving me my sight back and I need to put myself first."

No change from usual there, then. "Well, this is a time when putting yourself first turned out to be a good thing. We all win in this situation, Noah."

"Even Luke?"

"Especially Luke. He gets to date me. Now," picking up his pen, he went back to the paperwork, "any new symptoms?"

Honestly, after that, Reid felt his day was going swimmingly. Noah clearly wasn't going to make it a major issue and he could just get on with his job – which was the most important thing, after all.

Unfortunately, not ten minutes after Noah had left, Reid bumped into someone far less savoury.

"Oh," he said flatly when he encountered Steve, "you. Goodbye," he announced, turning and walking in the opposite direction.

"I need to talk to you," Steve said, chasing after him.

"You really don't," Reid replied. Technically he needed to use the elevator but the last thing he wanted to do was get trapped in there with him.

Absurdly, all he wanted to do was text Luke.

"Just had a new meeting with the board," Steve said as they kept walking, still following behind, "and while at the first meeting they couldn't have been friendlier, suddenly they had 'concerns'." Reid had to pause as a gurney crossed his path and Steve took the opportunity to lean in close, staring into his eyes. "That wouldn't have anything to do with you, now would it?"

"I'm not the one who makes it a habit of ruining people's lives," he spat back, thankfully able to move on.

"I'm glad to hear it," Steve said behind him. "I'd hate to have to make things difficult for you again."

Difficult. Difficult? Finally realising he needed to stop running from the asshole, Reid turned around to face him. "After what you did? What else could you possibly take from me?"

Steve's face transformed into a slimy, disturbing smile. "That's not a question you should ask, Reid," he said slowly, eyes dark, "because you just might find out."

*

Luke and Reid were having dinner the next day at Al's, pressed up against each other on the same side of a booth. Reid has insisted – Luke had been the one to bring the idea of love into their fake relationship, so as far as Reid was concerned he also had to live with the consequences.

Luke hadn't hesitated, sliding into the booth next to Reid and reaching for the menu.

Reid had to remind himself to stop underestimating him. It wasn't easy – Reid was used to underestimating almost everyone – but Luke had proven, time and time again, just how stubborn he was.

After their drinks had arrived and food had been ordered, he asked after Luke's day.

"You're so thoughtful," Luke said too-nicely, leaning against him for a moment before moving on. "My day was pretty good, actually. Although, then I spoke to Mom." His expression changed into a frown.

Reid found he didn't like seeing that happen. "That meal with her tomorrow should be interesting."

"To put it mildly," Luke replied, "because as it turns out..." he hesitated, shooting a glance at Reid. "Well, see, I thought it was just going to be at the town house with Mom and maybe Natalie and Ethan."

Uh huh. Clearly that had changed. "But now?"

"Dad and Grandma found out about you," Luke admitted. "So now it's going to be at the farm with everyone. And even though Mom and Dad really aren't getting on at the moment they're both insisting on being there, so..." He blew out a breath. "It's going to be way more interesting that we originally imagined."

Great, family drama. Still... "I put myself in this position. Guess I'll have to live with the consequences." The irony wasn't lost on him – he'd only just been thinking the same thing about Luke.

"It won't be too much for you?" Luke genuinely seemed concerned.

"Probably," he shrugged, 'Family' for him had existed as nothing more than a concept for a long time. And even when his parents were still alive, it was never that many people – not like Luke's family. "To new experiences," he toasted, mockingly lifting his glass.

Luke rolled his eyes, but clinked glasses with Reid anyway.

Sipping at his drink, he started really thinking over what Luke had said about his parents. He'd known, from somewhere, that Lily and Holden weren't together at the moment, though he couldn't remember Luke ever expressly telling him anything about it. That had to suck, though, especially when there were kids in the mix. "So, your folks," he observed, finally putting his glass down. "That must suck."

"Yeah, it does," Luke said honestly. "It'd be one thing if they just weren't happy together anymore, or weren't in love anymore – but they can't even be in the same room together these days without arguing about something."

That sounded...extremely unpleasant. "Sounds fun."

"Tons," he said wryly.

Reid knew how close Luke was to the rest of his family – it had to be impacting on him. "How are you coping with that?"

"By focusing on the kids, mostly," he explained. "Faith's going though her bitter, 'I hate the world' phase – the only people she'll even really talk to these days are me and Grandma. Natalie's just...lost," he said sadly, gaze turning introspective. "I worry about her, she's so quiet all the time. And Ethan is...young," he shrugged, "so I think he's taken it the best. He doesn't really understand why Mom's not living at the farm with them anymore, though."

Geez, everything that'd happened with Noah and this, too? "No wonder you're distracting yourself by playing boyfriend."

"I did say I needed some fun," he pointed out, which was true.

When was the last time anyone had put Luke first?

"Luckily for you," he drawled, "I'm tons of fun."

"And so modest as well," Luke pointed out, grinning at him. Honestly, Luke's smile – and face in general – was even nicer close up. Reid was thinking about kissing him – his face was right there – when the smile faded as Luke turned serious. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Reid blinked at him, lost. "What?"

"Thank you," he repeated, looking amused. "I understand it may not be a phrase you get to hear very often," he teased. "It's just...nobody ever asks me how I'm coping with things. Noah didn't really do it, even before he got blinded – but you have, so, thank you." He smiled again, gently this time. "It means a lot."

"Ah, it's nothing," he brushed off, "just me being an awesome boyfriend to my boyfriend."

Shaking his head, Luke soon became curious. "Have there been many boyfriends?" he asked. "Partners?"

Reid hadn't expected this topic, but he probably should have. "A few. Steve was the first real one though, so..."

Luke's face grew serious. "That must've made things...difficult for you."

"You could say that." He'd had a hard time trusting anyone after that, and he hadn't been the most open of people to begin with.

"You know," Luke began carefully, holding Reid's gaze, "if you ever want to talk about it...him...I'm more than willing to listen – especially after than run-in you had with him yesterday. I mean," he grinned lightly, "you've listened to me rant about my own issues, it only seems fair. And this is the kind of thing boyfriends do, right?"

He was teasing, but he wasn't wrong. "Not really the topic I like to waste time thinking about."

"Understandable," Luke said softly. "But if you want to, one day – even when we're not 'together' anymore – I'd be more than happy to listen."

"You think we'll still speak to each other after this?"

"You think we won't?" Luke shot back. "I can be quite determined."

No kidding. "Tell me something I don't know."

"We can be those exes who stay good friends."

Interesting. "You think you can fake that?"

"I won't have to fake anything," he said openly. "At this point I honestly like spending time with you. Yeah, you can be an ass, but you're a funny ass. And I know you won't suddenly start ignoring me – you've been having just as much fun as I have," he said knowingly. "No one's that good an actor."

"Oh?" Reid would've agreed with that, but then he'd thought he'd known Steve.

"Your smile gives you away," Luke shared, like it was a secret.

Seriously? "My smile?"

"Yeah. It's been nice, actually seeing it lately." Reaching out, he touched the side of Reid's face. "You should let people see it more."

He really was something else. "My God, you are cheesy."

"Hmm," Luke considered, drawing his hand back, "and something tells me you're starting to find that being a little cheesy isn't so bad."

"Don't impugn my reputation that way," Reid insisted, because tragically it may have been the truth. It hadn't been completely horrible, being more obviously romantic – even if it wasn't real. It no doubt helped that he found Luke attractive and they'd turned it into a game more than anything else – but still. Reid was definitely pushing himself out of his limits.

"How you gonna stop me?" he asked, not a little flirtatiously. Their faces were so close to each other...

"If I was really your boyfriend I'd probably kiss you to shut you up."

"Well," Luke's hand moved around to the back of his neck, eyes dropping to Reid's mouth, "we do need to look convincing."

"Right," Reid agreed easily, because he wasn't stupid enough to talk himself out of kissing Luke.

Unfortunately the kiss had only really just started when someone intervened.

"Dude," a male voice interrupted and they – sadly – pulled apart to see a guy in his early twenties staring at them. "I know you told me and everything, Luke, but I honestly didn't believe it until now."

Looking a little caught out – even embarrassed – for the first time since arriving for dinner, Luke shifted in his seat, pulling away from Reid.

Weird.

"Casey," Luke greeted, an obvious flush on his cheeks.

What the hell?

"Luke," Casey replied with a smirk, obviously noticing his discomfort. "And you're Dr Oliver, right?" he asked, focusing on Reid.

Reid was pretty sure he'd seen the guy hanging around with Luke a few times, but they'd never actually met. "Right. No idea who you are." Apart from being called Casey, apparently.

"My man Luke hasn't been bigging me up to his new man?" He seemed to have a permanent smile etched on his face.

"You're really not the topic of conversation when we're alone together," Luke told him.

"I can see that," he kept grinning, looking between them. "Anyway, I'm Casey," he introduced, "Luke and I are bros. He used to think you were a dick, he doesn't anymore. I was honestly worried when he said he was dating you so soon after Noah but you're obviously as into him as he is into you, so – it's all good," he shrugged.

Okay, then. "Thanks?" Not that he needed this guy's blessing. Not that Luke did.

"No problem," he winked. "I gotta shoot off, on my way to meet someone," he told Luke, holding up his to-go bag that he'd obviously just picked up. "But you two..." he looked from one to the other, waggling his eyebrows, "...keep having fun."

With one last grin, he was gone.

Reid shook his head. "That was weird."

Luke was finally starting to look a little more comfortable. "That's Casey for you."

"Not that, I mean you," he said, which just made Luke tense up again. "You got all...embarrassed and weird. And you're all tense right now."

"You noticed that?" Luke asked, then answered the question himself. "What am I talking about, of course you noticed that."

Reid could only really reach one conclusion. "Do you have a thing for him or-"

"God, no, nothing like that," he insisted so clearly it had to be true. "I'm sorry, it was just me being an idiot for a minute. It's fine."

Reid doubted that. "If you're really not okay with this pretending to date thing, I'll deal with Steve some other way-"

"No," he said firmly, meaning it. "I don't need to stop – like I said, it's a lot of fun and I really need that right now. If anything, you're the one doing me the favour."

"True, I do have refined tastes," Reid 'agreed', letting Luke off the hook – he obviously didn't want Reid to push it. "Being wanted by someone like me is a compliment."

"Aaaaaaand we're back the modesty again," Luke grinned, looking back to his typical self already.

"Even I can't be perfect," he retorted, just as he saw their food being brought over to them. "Go on, then," he continued as he moved his drink to make way for his meal, "tell me all about what horrors await me tomorrow."

*

Having been given thorough instructions on how to get to the farmhouse, Reid drove himself there the next night. The amount of land they owned was unsurprisingly impressive, and the house itself looked welcoming and homey – something Luke had said was entirely down to his Grandma Emma.

Pulling up in front of the house, Reid saw that Luke's car was already there and found himself smiling at the realisation. Shaking his head at himself – sure, they were having fun together, but he didn't need to be that much of a sap – Reid grabbed a few things from the car before locking up and heading towards the house.

Tapping on the screen door, he soon saw a woman come into view, pulling the door open.

"Come in, come in," she invited effusively, urging him into a kitchen that smelt amazing. "You must be Reid." Lily and Holden were both lurking further away, by what was clearly the dinner table.

"Grandma Emma?" he asked. "You have a lovely home." He was being deliberately charming, of course, but he spoke the truth anyway. Everything looked very...comfortable.

"Oh, why thank you," she tittered, pleased.

"These are for you," he went on just as Luke came into view from another room, a gaggle of kids following behind him.

"Goodness," she declared, bringing the bouquet up to her face and inhaling deeply, "what beautiful flowers. I'll get them in water right away."

Staring across the room at him, Luke just shook his head with a smirk.

"There's also this," he added before she could move, holding out the bottle of non-alcoholic wine. "I thought maybe we could have it with dinner."

"What a wonderful idea," Emma agreed, "and so generous of you, Reid – thank you so much."

"It's nothing," he assured her, as she finally left to put the flowers in some water.

Slowly making his way across the room to him, Luke had his hands shoved into his pockets. Reid was sure they were both vividly aware that Luke's parents were watching and probably knew that they hadn't seen each other all day.

"Reid Oliver," he greeted softly, hands sliding out of his pockets, "making Grandmother's happy everywhere."

"It's hard being this likeable," he said easily as they grinned at each other.

"Missed you," Luke said quietly as he moved in, hands tugging Reid in close.

"You too," he murmured because it was actually true, meeting Luke in a kiss that went on for a few moments and for all that Luke had had that weird blip yesterday, there was absolutely no sign of it now.

"Come on," he grinned as he pulled away, tugging Reid by his left hand, "I'll introduce you to everyone." They only had to go a few feet, really, but Luke kept holding his hand anyway.

Reid decided he didn't mind.

"Mom, Dad," Luke said, looking at both of them, "you've both met Reid already."

"That's right, Dr Oliver – Reid," Lily corrected. "I'll admit I was surprised when I heard about you and Luke, especially given your history of...clashing," she told him. "But Luke's happiness is the only thing that matters, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

There might have been a compliment there somewhere. Then again, maybe not. "Miss Walsh," he greeted. "Mr Snyder," he continued, shaking Holden's hand.

"Holden, please," he said, releasing Reid's hand. "And I was as surprised as Lily, but then you never know what life's going to throw at you," he stared at Reid, "do you?"

"Truer words," Reid agreed. He'd certainly never seen Luke as his fake boyfriend coming.

"And Reid," Luke continued excitedly, "this is Faith, Natalie and Ethan." He gestured to his siblings each in turn. "Guys, this is Reid. You're going to see him around a lot more from now on."

"Like Noah?" Natalie asked.

Luke's smile didn't even falter. "That's right, Nat."

"As long as this guy makes you happy," Faith said darkly, glaring at Reid like she was just waiting for him to screw up.

"Faith," Luke warned, smile vanishing.

"I'm just saying I hope you have better taste in men this time," she replied and Reid decided then and there that he liked her.

"Can't argue with that," Reid shrugged, earning himself his own small glare from Luke. "Ethan, right?" he asked the youngest one, holding out his hand. "I'm Reid."

"Reid," Ethan repeated shyly, though he did manage a kid-sized handshake. "You're a doctor?"

"That's right," he encouraged. "Maybe one day I can take you into work and show you what a brain really looks like."

"Maybe not, Dr Oliver," Lily said quickly, before correcting herself again. "Reid. We don't want to traumatise Ethan."

"There's nothing inherently traumatising about the brain," he told her. "It's an organ, just like any other."

"Yes, well," she told him, "I'd rather Ethan didn't see any internal organs just yet. Thank you."

"Well," Emma intervened, making them all turn to face her. "dinner's all but done. Please, all of you, take a seat and we can begin."

After what seemed like an elaborate game of musical chairs, everyone was seated and dinner was ready to be served. Reid ended up with Luke to his left and Faith on his right. Every time he turned in her direction, she was staring at him suspiciously.

"Tough crowd," he told her, one time.

"I don't know you," she spat back.

He shrugged. "That'll change."

Calling for everyone's attention, Emma said grace – even thanked Reid for being there, which was something – and then they were all invited to tuck in.

The food was incredible. Nothing fancy, but absolutely delicious. In fact, Reid felt that the meal got off to an excellent start all around as Holden asked about his career and he got to talk about his professional exploits for a while.

It didn't last.

Before long, Lily started taking verbal swipes at her ex-husband. It was subtle, at first, but became much more obvious as the meal went on. Reid had to give Holden some credit, he didn't retaliate right away, asking Lily if they could just focus on having a nice meal. But eventually even he, too, succumbed and the next time she made a dig at him about someone called Molly, he spat something back.

Clearly, no one else knew what to do about the situation. Emma looked lost and embarrassed but was too polite to do anything about it. The most she'd achieved was changing the subject a few times, but it always went right back to their little argument. Luke just looked sad, absently playing with his food. The kids had clearly noticed, too. Having given up the pretext of eating at all, Faith had sat back in her chair with her arms folded across her chest like this was business as usual. Natalie had her head bowed down, shoulders slumped and even Ethan knew something was up, though Luke was trying to distract him by encouraging him to build a mashed potato mountain.

When Lily hissed out something about how selfish Holden was and Luke actually flinched, Reid had finally reached his limit.

He didn't need either of Luke's parents to like him to keep playing Luke's boyfriend.

"Will the two of you get over yourselves already?"

He'd said it loudly and clearly and at least the shock of it made the two of them shut up for a few seconds.

"Dr Oliver," Lily began once she'd gotten over her shock, "Reid-"

"No, you can keep calling me Dr Oliver," he told her, "because nothing you've done tonight has earned you the right to use my first name."

"I beg your pardon-"

"How about you beg your family's pardon," he told her, glancing around at them. "Have you noticed how this stupid little argument of yours has affected them at all, or do you really only care about what you want?"

Seeming ashamed, Holden glanced away.

Lily wasn't about to give in so easily. "Our personal business has nothing to do with you-"

"I beg to differ," he interrupted, "not only am I dating Luke – the guy I'm crazy about, by the way – but you made it my business when you insisted on arguing about it in front of me. What upsets Luke, upsets me. And I know it sure as hell upsets him that his parents don't even seem to notice how distraught his little brothers and sisters are."

"I really don't think-"

Luke had been silent the entire time until then, only staring at Reid with wide eyes. Now, he finally seemed to find his voice. "He's right, Mom. This was...terrible," he admitted. "Embarrassing. You said you wanted to meet my new boyfriend but all you did was humiliate me. In fact," pushing his chair back, he stood up, "we're leaving."

Holden finally found his voice, too. "You sure about that, son? We can...talk this out..."

"You and Mom need to, yes," he agreed, "but you're not dragging the rest of us into it anymore. Come on, guys," he encouraged, planting a smile on his face as he spoke to his siblings, "grab your jackets and we'll all go get milkshakes at Al's, okay?"

Ethan and Natalie both cheered up immediately, running off to get their jackets. Faith still looked miserable but conceded to move out of her chair when Luke gave her a look.

"I can't believe this," Lily complained, standing to face them, "you can't just-"

"Oh, for goodness sake, Lily," Emma said firmly, "will you please just stop? Reid was only saying what the rest of us were thinking." Standing herself, Emma grabbed Luke's arms and smiled at him emotionally. "You go do what you need to do. I'll stay here and make sure they talk this thing out finally – for good."

"Thanks, Grandma," he said, before hugging her fiercely.

After that they were ready to go, just waiting as Natalie helped Ethan into his jacket. Emma, Lily and Holden made an awkward tableau as they all waited near the dinner table, looking at turns embarrassed and ashamed.

As the rest of them starting barrelling out of the house, Luke handed his car keys to Faith. "Faith, here, go on ahead and get Ethan in the child seat, okay?"

Not even muttering in disgust she did as she was told, holding Ethan's hand.

Once they were alone in the porch Reid turned to face him, as he'd obviously wanted to be alone for a reason.

"What's-"

He never got to finish asking his question as, pushing him up against the wall, Luke kissed him fiercely, deeply, and longer than he ever had before.

Not being an idiot, Reid kissed back, but when it was finally over and Luke was just smiling at him a little shyly, Reid had an entirely different question.

"What was that for?"

"I just figured that's how I'd say thank you, if I really was your boyfriend," Luke told him, biting his lip innocently. "You didn't like it?"

"I didn't say that." How could he not like a kiss like that?

"Good," Luke continued, grabbing Reid's hand and tugging him on even though no one was watching. "Now let's go get some milkshakes," he added, "my treat."


	3. Chapter 3

All five of them squeezed into a booth together at Al's – Luke and Reid on one side, the three kids on the other. Luke had been 'on' the entire drive there, chattering away in the car about nothing important, acting like he didn't have a care in the world. His purpose had been obvious – distract the kids. He continued that now, cheerfully going through the drinks menu with his siblings, encouraging them to get whatever they wanted, debating which flavours were the best and keeping up a non-stop conversation with his brother and sisters.

It had to be exhausting. Reid was exhausted just watching it.

None of them had finished their meals back at the Snyder house, so Reid quietly ordered a few sides of fries. Sure, it was hardly the healthiest combination in the world, but this little visit was about making the kids feel better anyway.

Shooting him a grateful look, Luke leant against him and helped Ethan narrow down his choice of flavours.

Sometime later, when his siblings were all smiling and laughing – well, Faith wasn't glaring, anyway – Reid dragged Luke to a regular table nearby where he could get some much needed physical, and mental, space.

"But," Luke began, gesturing to his family.

"They're fine," he pointed out, "we're nearby and we can see everything that's happening." It was remarkable how quickly kids could get over things, Reid thought, watching as they good-naturedly made fun of each other. A couple of milkshakes and they soon appeared as if nothing had upset them at all.

It wasn't really that simple, Reid knew that much, but he still thought kids were better at dealing with most things than adults were.

Finally giving in, Luke slumped down in his chair. "I just don't want Mom and Dad's drama to ruin their childhood, you know?"

That hadn't come out of nowhere. "Like it ruined yours?" It wasn't said to be mean, or upset him – at this point, Reid just honestly thought it was the truth.

Looking truly shocked, Luke seemed stunned for a few moments. Reid didn't know if it was a realisation or shock that Reid had been so blunt about it – though Luke must've known what he was like by now – but whatever it was, eventually it only changed into determination. "I knew I was right."

That'd come out of the left field. "About what?"

"You," Luke told him with a soft smile. "What I said here, yesterday," he went on, which Reid still didn't understand. "When I first realised they were going to be at the meal," he explained, nodding to his siblings, "I was...hesitant. The whole point of this," he gestured between them, "for me, anyway, was a way to indulge in my...darker side without hurting anyone, right?"

"Right."

"Only kids can get attached, you know? When I tell my parents we've split up it won't really be a big deal, but with kids..."

"You didn't want them to get to know me and then have me vanish out of their lives," Reid concluded.

"Like Noah did," Luke said darkly, which put a whole other spin on this conversation.

"He doesn't come and see them?" He knew Luke and Noah had been together for a couple of years, at least. Noah must've become pretty close with his siblings.

"I know it's harder for him to get around now," he admitted, apparently still trying to find some good in the guy, "but it's the fact he doesn't even try, you know? Natalie in particular doesn't understand why she doesn't get to see him anymore." He looked over at her sadly. "But," he went on, reviving his mood some as he looked back at Reid, "tonight only confirms for me what I thought yesterday."

"Which is...?"

"You're not going anywhere," Luke grinned, absolutely certain. "Even when we 'break up'," he waggled his head from side to side, "the way you were with them tonight – sticking up for me, sticking up for them," he nodded across at them again, "you're not about to leave them high and dry."

Reid had honestly never expected it, but... "No. I'm not."

"And I can't tell you how much it means to me, Reid," Luke went on, turning serious as he covered Reid's hand with his own. "Looking out for them is just about the best thing anyone's ever done for me."

"You mean dating me isn't amazing enough?" he asked, because it was getting too mushy again.

"That is pretty awesome, too," Luke conceded, the smile returning. "God," he continued after a few moments, "isn't it crazy how much things have changed in such a short amount of time? Barely a week ago I thought you hated me."

"I did – kind of," he amended, because that wasn't the whole truth. Even before he'd bumped into Steve in Java, he hadn't disliked Luke anywhere near as much as he had the first week he'd arrived.

"I know I didn't do myself any favours," Luke admitted.

"You definitely didn't," Reid confirmed, making Luke lift his eyebrows at him, unimpressed. "But then I didn't either," he gave.

"I guess we only wanted to see the worst in each other," Luke said quietly. "It's funny," he continued, shaking his head, "that my life finally started taking a turn for the better the day you asked me to pretend to be your boyfriend."

It wasn't even funny, in Reid's opinion – it was honestly kind of sad. He decided not to point that out. "Good things just happen when I'm around," he volunteered. "Even being my fake boyfriend improves peoples lives."

"I know you're joking," Luke replied honestly, "but that's actually the truth." Shaking his head, he got to his feet. "Bathroom break," he announced.

Before Luke could leave – and realising it'd been a while since he'd done anything 'boyfriendy' – Reid reached for Luke's hand, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss.

Face flushed, Luke eyed him carefully. "You know you've already pulled that move, right?"

"The classics never go out of style," he retorted, making Luke roll his eyes before he finally walked away.

Reid was still watching him go, smiling to himself, when Faith suddenly plopped down in Luke's chair. "Oh," Reid blinked. "The sister."

"Oh," she replied smartly, "the boyfriend."

Glancing over at the booth to make sure Natalie and Ethan were still safely in place – they were, dipping fries in their milkshakes, the heathens – he focused back on her. "You need something?"

"Just wondering what you get out of this," she mused, narrowing her eyes.

Her paranoia wasn't entirely unexpected, he supposed. "You don't have the monopoly on being miserable about everything, you know. I used to do the same thing." Disturbingly, he was beginning to realise he had more in common with a grumpy teenager than he ever would've imagined.

Clearly not appreciating being called miserable – or maybe it was the comparison to Reid himself – she didn't drop the subject, either way. "What changed?"

"I met your brother." Not 100% true, but he did honestly feel like he'd been in a bit of a better space since 'dating' Luke.

"Oh my God, you are so cheesy," she complained, rolling her eyes.

"It's your brother who's the cheesily romantic one."

"I saw you kissing his hand," she pointed out, for which he really only had himself to blame. "That's only stuff that like...old people do." Faith squinted at him. "Just how old are you?"

Teenagers. "Thirty-four."

"Huh," she said, "you are a lot older than him." She didn't seem to be judging him for it. "But then Noah threw him away like a piece of trash, so maybe he needs an older guy this time."

Reid stared at her. "That's...harsh."

"Look," she began, sounding sadly world-weary, "Luke never talked about his relationship with Noah with me but I'm not a little kid, okay? I see a lot more of what goes on than what people tell me. Noah seemed...fun, at first, when I was too young to know any better. But then he always kept breaking up with Luke and Luke would always take him back and..." she shook her head. "I love my brother but he drives me crazy, you know? He does so much for Ethan and Nat but never does anything for himself. Until now, apparently," she finished, looking over Reid. "Is that because of you?"

Even Reid couldn't give himself that much credit. "More like the other way around. I think I'm the result of him finally thinking about what he needs." It was kind of the truth.

"Well, good," she nodded sincerely. "What you did at dinner today," Faith told him, "that was good. You might be okay."

Reid genuinely got the impression that she didn't say those words very often. "Thanks."

"Don't think I won't be waiting for you to mess up, though," she announced, getting up and flouncing back over to the booth.

He realised why she'd left so suddenly when Luke sat back in his chair. "Was it just me, or was Faith actually talking to you?"

"She was talking to me," he confirmed. "I think she likes me." He honestly felt kind of smug, which was ridiculous, caring what a teenager thought about you.

"That is impressive," Luke said, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Faith doesn't really like anyone."

"Nah, she likes you," he told him, because that much had been obvious. "She's just picky. Doesn't take fools gladly."

"Sounds a lot like someone else I know," he said with a grin.

Reid didn't know if he should be offended or not – wait, yes he did, and he should definitely be offended. "Are you comparing me to your grumpy teenage sister?" He decided to ignore the fact that he'd mentally compared himself to Faith already.

"If the shoe fits...?" Luke began innocently.

Charming.

Shifting his chair closer to Reid's, Luke sat shoulder-to-shoulder with him as they looked at his brother and sisters.

After a while he asked seriously, "You think they'll be okay?"

"They've got you looking out for them," he replied just as seriously. "Life won't be perfect, because life isn't perfect. But they'll have all the emotional support they'll ever need." Even if it really shouldn't have been almost exclusively Luke's job, he knew it was one Luke would take on.

Turning his head to look at Reid fondly, Luke took his hand. "Because you'll be there to help too."

Luke had been right, in a way – things had changed so much in such a short amount of time. A ridiculous amount, really, but it wasn't all just down to the pretending to be boyfriends thing. Even before that Reid had been coming to understand that Luke wasn't just the spoiled brat who was used to getting everything his own way. He'd acted like he hadn't seen it, like his opinion of Luke hadn't been changing, mostly because he'd honestly enjoyed their little run-ins where they'd pick and make fun of each other. It'd always added a little spice to his day, put some pep in his step. Reid had honestly lost count of the amount of times he'd get to work or be at home after some run-in with Luke and would think back on the encounter, smiling to himself.

'Dating' Luke had made it even better. They spent time together deliberately and while they still made fun there was open fondness behind it, now. Spending time with Luke's 'dark side' was huge amounts of fun – and he got to kiss Luke. Kissing Luke was always a good thing.

As the days had passed, he'd found he genuinely liked the guy, was actually interested in his opinions and even wanted him to be happy and crap like that. Hell, at the meal tonight he hadn't been able to stand just how bad Luke's parents had been making him and his siblings feel and he literally hadn't been able to stop himself from reacting and _holy shit he liked Luke_.

He _liked_ Luke. Not in some abstract, he was physically attracted to him way – he'd already known about that. He actually, seriously, liked him.

Suddenly everything made sense. Why he gave a crap about what happened to Luke's siblings – when did he ever care about other people's kids? Why he smiled almost anytime he saw Luke – and not as part of their 'act'. He didn't even have to think about it, it was just instinctive at this point. Seeing Luke always made him smile.

The way he deliberately hadn't been bringing up the topic of their relationship ending himself, because he didn't want it to end.

He wanted this to be real.

God, he was such an idiot.

"Hey," Luke began, sounding concerned – of course he was, he was Luke, "are you okay?"

"Fine," he shot back, frantically scrambling to cover his true feelings – Luke had brought up their inevitable break-up so many times he couldn't possibly feel the same. "Just pondering over my future career as Ethan's babysitter and how I can turn him against your mom."

"No indoctrinating the children, please," Luke replied instantly, which only reminded Reid of how quick and smart he was and just how much he liked that.

This was terrible.

Everything was terrible.

Except for the way Luke felt pressed up against him.

*

When Luke received the all-clear in a text message from Emma – Lily had gone back home so at least there'd be no more confrontations in front of them that night – they all piled back into Luke's car and made the drive to the farm.

Trapped in a car with Luke, Reid was beginning to regret leaving his own car at the farm. Still, the kids were there too so at least there weren't any awkward silences as, now being in a much better mood, there was a lot more talking in general from people who weren't Luke this time.

It wasn't long before they were parked up at home, and Faith and Natalie were helping Ethan out of his child seat and into the house.

"Well," Luke said as he pocketed his keys, turning to face Reid. "I should probably get in there and talk to Grandma, see how things went before I head home."

That probably wasn't going to be fun. "Need me to come in, or-"

"Nah, I should probably do this alone," he said. "Thank you, though," he added thoughtfully. "So much. For everything." Stepping forward, his hands clutched at Reid's jacket.

Reid swallowed, and he had to remind himself this was all for show. "It's fine."

"It's more than fine," Luke informed him, smiling, "it's amazing."

He made a production out of rolling his eyes. "Still on with that mushy stuff, I see."

"Ah, you love it really," Luke drawled, then looked over Reid's shoulder at something. "Grandma's looking," he said quietly, gaze moving back to meet Reid's.

Nodding in response, Reid leaned in to perform his boyfriendly duty, intending to give Luke a chaste kiss goodbye. He could handle that much, and would have to until they 'broke up'.

Luke very clearly had other ideas, giving Reid the same kind of kiss he'd given him earlier in the porch and – screw it. If this was all Reid was ever going to have of Luke, he might as well go all in.

He kissed Luke back just as deeply, just as passionately. Luke's hands went to the back of Reid's neck, then up into his hair so Reid cupped Luke's face with one hand and pulled his body close with another. It was different, more, knowing that it wasn't just physical attraction anymore and for all that they'd had some very satisfying kisses before, this one had them beat hands down.

"Um," Luke said afterwards, staring at him with wide eyes. "That was some kiss."

"We're good at that," Reid agreed, but still tried to act like it hadn't affected him just as deeply.

"I should...go," Luke told him. Was he imagining things, or was Luke's gaze on Reid's mouth? "I need to go."

"Okay," Reid said easily, releasing him and stepping back like his whole world hadn't shifted under his feet tonight. "I'll text you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Luke started walking towards the house. Hesitated. "Okay." Then kept going. "'Bye."

"'Bye," he replied, having to actually shove his hands into his pockets or he would've reached out for him again.

Shit, he was in so much trouble.

But it wouldn't be for very much longer, right?

He could do this. Reid nodded to himself as he turned and strode over to his car.

He could get through this.

He had no other choice.

*

Unsurprisingly Reid didn't get a lot of sleep that night. He spent a long time in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to work out just how long he'd been lying to himself. He didn't like the idea that he'd been kidding himself – he'd made a personal vow, after Steve, to be more aware of his feelings at all times. Yet, somehow, whatever this was with Luke had gotten away from him.

He forced himself to be bluntly honest about the whole experience – if Luke had been any other guy the day they'd run into Steve and this whole farce had started, would Reid have pretended to be dating them, too?

The answer was no.

He hadn't had the time – or inclination – to analyse it in the moment, but his immediate reaction, his _instinct_ , had been to fake that he was dating Luke. Without having the time to think over his options at all, he'd just gone straight to dating Luke.

That said a lot about the way he'd regarded Luke even back then, though he clearly hadn't started to acknowledge it.

Was it really the end of the world that he liked Luke that much, though? It was obvious, at this point, that Luke liked him as a person – that alone gave Reid hope that Luke at least wouldn't run screaming if he ever found out. Also, just the fact that Luke liked him at all bode well, because almost nobody liked Reid.

They also both found each other attractive and, honestly, if Reid didn't have all these annoying feelings going on he could've well suggested a purely physical and mutually beneficial friends-with-benefits relationship. It didn't seem like a smart move though, when Reid's feelings for Luke were more than just physical attraction and he was reasonably sure that Luke didn't feel the same way.

Well, kind of. Luke had made it very clear that he liked Reid a lot, that his support and recent friendship had made him important to Luke – but that was all it'd come across as, to Reid. Friendship. And he'd honestly never had a friend like Luke, someone who made him laugh and just brightened his day.

Crap – Faith had been right. He really was cheesy.

Regardless, he didn't want to ruin the friendship he'd only recently started having with Luke by dumping these feelings on him. And it was only really an issue now because they were pretending to be in a relationship. Steve would hopefully be leaving soon – there was no way he'd stay long-term in a place as small as Oakdale – then they could 'break up' and at least Luke wouldn't be snuggling up to him all the time and things would be easier to bear.

Sometime after 7am, Reid finally stumbled out of his bedroom, blearily heading towards the coffee maker.

He knew Katie must've already been up because he could smell the coffee brewing, and he was proven right when she emerged, fully dressed, from he room. There was no sign of Jacob so, remarkably, he might have actually still been sleeping.

"Morning," he grunted, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and pouring himself a cup.

"Wow, listen to you," she remarked, reaching for her own mug which was already poured and sitting on the counter. "Everything okay?"

Adding a lot more sugar than he should have, he shrugged and sipped carefully at his drink. Nothing like the old hit of caffeine and too-much sugar in the morning. "Didn't sleep well."

"Everything okay?" she asked, frowning as she leant against the counter.

"Just didn't sleep well, that's all," he insisted, putting his drink down. She still kept staring at him. "Not everything has to mean something, Katie."

"Not always, that's true," she mused, "but all you've been doing lately is spending time with Luke so it's a fair bet this has something to do with him." Wonderful. "You said things went well when you called him, after getting his message."

"They did," he tried to say casually. "And things have still been going well since – between us, anyway."

She latched on to that quickly. "Did something happen last night?"

He very specifically didn't mention anything about his own realisation. "Just Luke's parents being a poor example for their kids," he told her. "So we all bailed on dinner and went for milkshakes at Al's instead."

"We?"

"Me and Luke. And Faith, Natalie and Ethan."

"Babysitting already?" she asked with a smile. "You keep doing that and you'll never get away from the Snyder's – though I'm guessing you don't want that anyway," she teased.

"Trust me, I've had more than enough of Luke's parents already," Reid told her, shaking his head in frustration as he recalled their behaviour the night before.

"I know they're not together anymore, right?" she asked and he nodded. "What did they do?"

"What didn't they do?" he spat back. "Fighting, arguing, embarrassing Emma, upsetting their kids. Luke was devastated." He shook his head. "These people are meant to be adults and they couldn't even play nice long enough to meet their son's new boyfriend. It was meant to be Luke's night, you know? And then ruined it."

Studying him intently, Katie just nodded as she frowned. "So then you guys went for milkshakes with the kids. And then you came home and couldn't sleep because you couldn't stop thinking about Luke-"

How the hell did she even know this stuff? "I never said that was the reason."

"You didn't need to," she brushed it off. "I know what's going on here, Reid," Katie told him, face slowly transforming into a smile. "And there's nothing to worry about."

Wouldn't that be a nice life? "There isn't?"

"No," she said gladly, shaking her head. "Look, you're freaking out because you're realising just how strong your feelings are for Luke – that's normal, when you're not sure if the other person feels the same way or not. But the great thing about your situation is that you don't need to freak out, Reid," she enthused encouragingly, "Luke already feels the same way."

He laughed a bizarre, high-pitched laugh. "Right."

"You should tell him," she announced definitively. "After those flowers and the message he sent the other day, there's no way he won't be happy about it. This is good, Reid," Katie continued. "Do you have any idea the amount of people who would love to be in your position? Knowing that the person they like already likes them back so there's no fear, no doubt?"

He nodded tightly. If she only knew... "Lucky me."

"I know you're probably used to playing it safe, when it comes to this stuff," she told him, turning a little more serious, "after being hurt before, but Luke's not going to hurt you, okay? He's a great guy and he feels the same way." Stepping around the counter, she grabbed his shoulders, looking him in the eye. "This is a good thing, Reid. You get to be happy and, for once, it's with none of the risk usually involved."

There was no way he was about to tell Luke – and definitely not while they were still pretending to date. It'd only make things weird and awkward between them, and Reid was beginning to think he was going to start acting that way himself anyway. He didn't need any extra help to be weird and awkward in front of Luke right now.

"I'll think about it," was all he could give her in the end because if he said he was going to do it, he knew Katie would absolutely check that he'd followed through.

"Well, don't wait too long," she warned, "these opportunities don't come around every day, Reid." Katie studied him with a soft look in her eye. "And I don't want you to miss out." Moving on, she let out a breath. "Okay, time to get Jacob up. You wanna help?" she teased, walking back over to her bedroom.

Reid was very much declining knowing that, at the very least, Jacob would have a wet diaper. "Nah, Blondie. I'm sure you can cope with this all by yourself."

Although honestly, right now, he could probably cope with a dirty diaper better than he could cope with anything else.

*

Work wasn't it's usual happy distraction. Bob told him that the hospital board were still playing it safe, though they hadn't spurned Invicta's offer completely. Reid had to acknowledge that, ultimately, all they'd really care about was the bottom line. If Steve could convince the board that they'd be better off financially, they'd probably still take the offer.

Unfortunately, Reid knew personally that Steve was extremely convincing.

For once it was Steve that was at the back of his mind all day instead of Luke, which was a definite step down. Even with his recent internal conflict, he would've much rather been thinking about Luke. Luke hadn't texted him at all today, either, which was a little unusual by now.

Everything came to a head a little before 3 o'clock, when the door to the room he was using swung open and Luke stepped inside.

"There you are," he said urgently, looking relieved as he quickly closed the door behind him and hurried over.

Pausing the paperwork he'd been filling in, Reid stood up. Something was clearly up. "What's wrong? Is it your folks? How did things go after I-?"

"It's not that," Luke assured him but still looked incredibly concerned. "This is much more urgent."

What the hell was it? "Will you just tell me already?" Anything that had Luke this worried had to be bad.

He was right.

"Steve just came to see me," Luke said, holding his gaze, "at the foundation."

Reid's mouth went dry. Steve near Luke? No. "What did he want?"

"Well, he said he wanted to see if there was some way for Invicta and the foundation to work together to support LGBT kids in hospital. According to him there's a whole bunch of hospitals under the Invicta umbrella now so we could, potentially, reach a lot of kids. Do a lot of good."

It all sounded very good and worthwhile – but then Steve knew exactly what he was doing. "And you believed him?"

"Not for a second," Luke said instantly, which made Reid feel a whole hell of a lot better. Objectively, he knew Luke was aware of what an ass Steve was, but there were some things even Reid couldn't be rational about. "He was charming, the entire time, but we both knew I was there the first time you ran into each other at Java – when I saw his true side."

"You can't trust him," Reid said urgently, unable to do anything else. "And you can't let him be in a position where he has any power over you." Shit, just the idea that Steve could screw Luke over the way he'd screwed over Reid...

"Hey, hey," Luke grabbed his forearms, comforting. "I know that, okay? And I don't think he's really trying that anyway. This was a power play," he announced. "When you had that run-in with him here, a couple of days ago. You said he threatened you, right?"

That was true. "Right."

"Well that's all this is," Luke said. "He's trying to show that he'll follow through. By coming to me – the person he thinks you care most about – he's trying to show he'll do whatever it takes. But he can't actually do anything to hurt me, okay?" He smiled at Reid reassuringly. "I'm never going to trust him – and he knows it."

Calming a little, Reid tried to think it over objectively. "You've already seen his true colours."

"Right," he continued.

"So he can't get to you."

"Exactly."

Okay. Okay, he was starting to feel a little better. "I just wish he'd get out of town already."

Luke nodded, biting his lip. "I was thinking...there might be something we can do about that, actually."

Reid was more than willing to hear this. "What is it?"

"It didn't cross my mind at all until after I saw Steve today, but Grandma..." he gestured randomly. "She's not on the hospital board, but she certainly knows everyone on the board personally."

"Lucinda?"

He nodded. "They're all old business associates, friends – or enemies," he added wryly. "But, either way, she probably has a lot of influence that we can use." This was already giving Reid hope. "We'll have to give her some reason for why we want this deal to fail," he said awkwardly, "I don't know if you want to tell her the truth or think up something else, but..."

At this point he didn't care. If Lucinda had any pull at all they needed to use it as soon as possible and get that asshole far away from Oakdale. "Make the call."

Nodding, Luke pulled out his phone and stepped to the other side of the room. Reid tried to return to his paperwork while he waited but gave it up as a lost cause when all he could focus on was listening to Luke's side of the conversation.

"Is tonight okay?" Luke asked at one point, hand over the bottom of his phone.

"Definitely."

Nodding, Luke conveyed the response, confirmed a time, then thanked his grandmother and hung up. "Tonight, 8 o'clock at Grandmother's estate."

Reid honestly couldn't express how much that meant to him, staring at Luke from his seat. "Good. Good."

Smiling a little sadly, Luke crossed over to him. "Whenever he's mentioned he always makes you seem less...you. I hate it," he confessed. "I hate whatever it was he did that hurt you so much."

Maybe he couldn't express how much this had meant to him, but maybe he could give Luke this much. Hell, it was well beyond time that someone finally knew about it anyway. Gesturing for Luke to take the plastic chair next to his, he waited until he was seated before he began.

"I was brilliant, as a kid," Reid said, turning in his chair to face him. Luke looked at him attentively. "The technical term is 'child genius'. I was years ahead of everyone else my age, academically. My parents did the best they could," he said, "and they loved me a lot. When they died, my uncle didn't have a clue what to do with me and...made that obvious," he said distastefully, declining to go into detail. "I finished high school, pre-med and medical school years early," he went on, "got my fellowship in record time. I was the youngest qualified doctor they'd seen in the US in years," he said matter-of-factly, "which actually isn't that impressive – there are doctors in other countries who have qualified much earlier."

Luke smiled at him fondly. "Trust you to be competitive about being a genius."

He nodded in acknowledgement. "So, I was taught to be an amazing neurologist – but that's all I was. I'd focused so much on my education and career that I wasn't good at the people thing, and finishing everything years early didn't exactly help. My peers were never my own age and most of them resented me – either because of my age or because I was justifiably smug about my accomplishments." He shook his head. "When you're a genius, no one ever teaches you how to just be a person." He'd learned that the hard way.

Luke's expression turned sad. "And you met Steve."

"I was his perfect victim," he explained bluntly. "Somehow he saw through the bravado, knew that I actually wanted someone to like me," he said derisively. "And I made it easy," Reid shook his head, still angry at himself, "so easy for him."

Blinking heavily, Luke reached out and touched his arm. "You don't have to-"

"No, I want to," Reid said honestly. He was really starting to think that holding it in for all these years had still been giving Steve some kind of power over him.

He couldn't let that happen anymore.

"I thought he wanted me," he explained, "but all along all he ever wanted was my brain." Pausing, he went on when he saw Luke's frown. "There were a couple of papers I'd written but hadn't finished, on my computer. New techniques for dealing with specific neurological issues. He took them – including all my research – finished them and published them himself."

Luke looked absolutely furious, but like he was trying to contain it. "He was a neurologist too?"

Reid nodded. "He was decent enough but he wanted more recognition, a more prestigious job placement. And he used me to get it," he shrugged. "Those papers got him noticed and he got exactly what he wanted. He told me, after I confronted him," he spoke quietly, vividly remembering the conversation, "that he knew it wouldn't ruin things for me. That I was so smart I'd recover in no time. I think it was the only time he ever underestimated himself," he finished, looking down. "And now he's here, working in corporate medicine. He put me through all that bullshit all for a career he didn't end up keeping." Shaking his head, Reid let out a long, heavy breath. It had been...emotional, as he'd expected, but he thought he actually did feel a little better.

"Reid," Luke said intensely, and when he turned to look again Luke had a face like thunder, "I swear to you, that asshole will be out of town as soon as humanly possible. Whatever it takes, I'll get it done. Once I'm finished with him," he nodded decisively, "he'll never want to set foot in Oakdale again."


	4. Chapter 4

Luke had been texting him on and off in the hours since breaking the news at the hospital. Remarkably, because of that – and spending some time hanging out with Jacob – Reid's mood had improved considerably when it came time to leave.

Luke picked him up just after 7:40. Katie, of course, knew he was coming.

Katie, of course, pounced the moment Reid opened the apartment door.

"Hi, Luke!" she greeted very enthusiastically. "It's so good to see you!"

"Uh, thanks, Katie," he said back, glancing between her and Reid. "It's good to see you, too...?"

"Sorry, I forgot to warn you," Reid told him, pulling on his jacket and patting his pockets to double-check he had his phone and keys.

"Warn me?" he asked, still looking between for some explanation as to Katie's frankly scary behaviour.

"She's a little..."

"Happy for you," Katie finished.

"Obsessed with our relationship," Reid corrected.

"That is not what's been happening," she insisted, "and excuse me for wanting to be happy for my friend being happy."

"He can be a bit grumpy about that stuff," Luke scrunched his nose up and told her, like they were sharing a secret, "but he's a teddy bear really."

"Tell me about it," Katie said in a conspiratorial tone. "He pretends he's this big, mean doctor but I've seen him singing to Jacob. He's nowhere near as scary as he thinks he is." Pausing, she glanced at Reid curiously, before glancing back towards Luke. "Did you tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Luke frowned.

Time to move. "Aaaand we're leaving," Reid announced, grabbing Luke's arm to guide him out of the apartment. "Don't wait up and forget all about us," he called out, hustling Luke towards the elevator.

"Come on, it's nice that she cares about you," Luke rebuked as they waited for the elevator. "You could've done a lot worse than end up with Katie as a room mate."

"True, I could've had you," he shot back, though his grin showed he didn't mean it. Luke rolled his eyes anyway. "No, I know how lucky I am," he acknowledged. "But most people get on my nerves at one point or another – even Katie. She's just so...involved all the time in other people's love lives – I've seen her do it to other people, too."

Stepping into the elevator, Luke grew contemplative. "Maybe it's her way of dealing with losing Brad."

"Could be," Reid shrugged. He'd seen enough relatives lose loved ones to know there were all different kinds of ways of coping. "What was he like?" Brad had been a Snyder, as far as he recalled.

Luke smiled instantly, which said a lot. "Funny. Kind. He wasn't necessarily always the most politically correct type of guy, but he always stood up for what was right, you know?" Reid nodded. "He was a good man." Pausing for a moment, as if realising something, he turned to look at Reid again. "Actually he was a lot like you – though you'd probably hate that comparison if you'd ever met him."

Reid was sure he was right, but unfortunately there was no way to know for sure, now. "Well, I'll take the compliment."

"You should," Luke told him, and the doors dinged open.

They were taking Luke's car, as he actually knew where he was going. Apparently, much like the Snyder farm, Lucinda's estate wasn't in Oakdale proper and was a little ways out of town.

"Have you decided what you're going to tell Grandma?" Luke asked when they were on the road.

He'd thought about that a lot. "The truth, for the most part – that he stole my papers and research. That he's not the kind of man Memorial should trust."

"That's certainly the truth," Luke muttered, readjusting his grip on the steering wheel.

Reid appreciated the hell out of the fact that Luke was so offended on his behalf. There wasn't even anyone else around so, just like when he'd first told him what Steve had done, it had to be a genuine reaction.

Eventually, after taking some turns down a few back roads, they pulled up to a large, intricate-looking metal gate. "I'm guessing this is Grandmother's house."

"You'd guess right," Luke nodded, then instead of leaning out of the car to buzz for entry, he popped open the glove box and pulled out what looked like a garage door opener. A press of the button later and the gate was swinging smoothly open and Luke slowly drove up the drive way.

Leaning forward to look out through the front window, Reid whistled. This was clearly the house of someone who had a lot of money and didn't mind showing it. It was huge and Reid half-expected to be greeted by a butler or something, but once they'd parked up and made it to the house – mansion? – it was Lucinda herself who opened the door.

"Luke," she greeted openly, as they shared a hug.

"Hey, Grandma."

"And Reid," Lucinda smiled, holding out her hand. "It's good to see you again."

Shaking her hand, he nodded. "Lucinda."

"Please, come in," she welcomed, stepping back and opening the door further. Once they were all inside and the door was closed, she led them into a nearby room. "There are refreshments on the table," she said, gesturing to the table in question. "Please, help yourselves."

Reid was never one to turn down free food and drinks, but he was honestly a little overwhelmed by how opulent Lucinda's home was. He knew they had money, but the rest of the family lived so differently it was a shock to the system seeing a house like this in Oakdale.

Better than just hoarding it, he guessed. Luke had said that most of Lucinda's money went back into her company, but she clearly had money to spare and obviously spent said money on maintaining this enormous home.

He honestly wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"So," Lucinda spoke again, drawing Reid's attention back to the matter at hand, "there's something the two of you wanted to talk about? And you need me involved, for some reason?"

"There is," Luke nodded, "and we do."

"Well," she said, taking a seat on an expensive-looking chair, gesturing to the equally expensive-looking sofa across from her, "tell me all about it."

Swallowing, Reid looked over at Luke. Stepping closer, Luke took his hand as they sat and Reid honestly couldn't even freak out about the fact that he liked Luke right now – he was just so glad he was there.

Taking a breath, he told Lucinda his story – with a few glaring omissions. He told her who Steve was, that he was working for Invicta and their interest in the hospital. He told her about Steve stealing his research and his papers. He told her that Steve had to be stopped because, whatever he had planned for Memorial, he knew it would only be bad for the hospital and Oakdale.

Lucinda wasn't a fool, however. "There's something you're not telling me." Staring at him intently, she leant forward in her chair.

Luke's hand squeezed his reassuringly. Looking down at their joined hands, he squeezed back. "Steve and I were...involved, at the time."

"Ah," she said in a tone of voice that said it all made sense now, sitting back in her chair. "So he's even crueller than he first appeared."

"He's a monster," Luke said darkly, causing Lucinda to look taken aback. "And he needs to be stopped."

He did, but Luke's tone may have suggested something. "But this isn't about revenge. I don't want you to...destroy him or anything." Given the amount of money she had to have, that no doubt would've been within her capabilities.

"I wouldn't mind," Luke muttered.

"I just want him to leave Oakdale. As soon as humanly possible. And I want him to leave Memorial alone – it's a fine institution, he's going to ruin it." He could only imagine what those corporate fat cats would do to it – and how it would all affect Bob.

Still studying him closely, Lucinda then abruptly changed her view, smiling sweetly at Luke. "Luke, I think I left some iced tea in the fridge, would you mind?"

Blinking in surprise, Luke nonetheless stood up to fulfil her request. "Sure, Grandma." Glancing back at Reid, he smiled soothingly. "I'll be right back," he said, releasing his hand and leaving the room.

Lucinda had clearly wanted some privacy and she used it to her advantage right away. "The timing of this is all very convenient, you know."

Reid had played a lot of chess in his life. This was easy. "It is?"

"You and my grandson suddenly announce you're dating out of nowhere, claiming you have been for a while – the very same moment your ex-boyfriend comes into town."

He pretended to think it over. "That does look suspicious," he agreed.

"So how can I possibly trust you?" she asked. "Yes, I could probably do what you ask, influence the hospital board in the way that you want, but why would I? If you're willing to lie about my grandson, who knows what else you'd lie about?"

"I haven't lied about Luke."

"Really?" she asked doubtfully.

"I want nothing more than to be in a relationship with your grandson," he said truthfully. "In fact, there are only two things I want out of life at the moment – for Steve to leave, and to date Luke."

She regarded him contemplatively. "Is that so?"

"It is so," he said, holding her gaze as Luke walked back into the room carrying a jug of iced tea.

"Here we go," he said, placing the jug down on the table, on a tray that was already holding snacks, glasses and a jug of water. "So, what do you think?" Luke asked as he sat back down, rubbing the palms of his hands over his pants. "Can you help?"

"Of course I can," she said pleasantly, as if she hadn't just been interrogating Reid. "You know how special you are to me – all you had to do was ask."

Reid narrowed his eyes at her. She smiled back brightly.

"Thank you, Grandmother," Luke enthused.

"Think nothing of it," she insisted. "Tomorrow, I'll start discreetly contacting board members, make sure they see that getting involved with Invicta is a bad idea. If this Steve is anything like you said he is," she continued, "I'm sure I could also find some evidence to back that up, should it prove necessary."

"I can't tell you how much that would mean to us," Luke said.

"He's right," Reid agreed, because he should probably sound grateful even if she had played him. "I...appreciate it."

"I'm sure you do," she said perceptively, before gesturing towards the table. "Now, what say we all have some iced tea to celebrate?"

*

The drive home was largely silent and Reid used the time to think. The news that Steve had paid the foundation a visit had led to one good outcome – it'd forced him to worry about that instead, stopping him from panicking about his feelings for Luke. 

Now that Lucinda was on the case about Steve, too, he was remarkably zen about almost every aspect of his life – and it made things a whole lot clearer. Thinking about the way Luke had been today – how defensive and protective he'd been of Reid, both around Lucinda and privately – it made him think that maybe this wasn't as one-sided as he'd feared.

He thought back on other events, too – the way Luke had kissed him, passionately in the porch, when no one was even looking. How many times Luke had said or implied that Reid made him happy. How much Luke had openly cared about him, worried about him, when he'd been telling him exactly what Steve had done.

With his feelings no longer a surprise and with no fear to guide him, it didn't take Reid long at all to piece the evidence together and for him to determine that it was equally likely that Luke liked him as well. In fact, he was pretty damn sure that was the fact.

Releasing the burden about what Steve had done to him had been eye-opening for Reid. He'd had relationships since, yes, but he'd never really put himself out there, never shown as much of himself as he could have – because of Steve, in case it happened to him again.

He wasn't giving that asshole any power over him anymore. Reid had claimed for years that he lived life by his own terms and in most respects that was true – but not when it came to relationships. Steve had made him overly-cautious, too-careful and none of his relationships since had got much further than casual sex.

No more. From now on he was going to do what he wanted to do, not what his fear of being hurt was telling him to do. He was going to tell Luke the truth and cope with the answer regardless, because he was an adult and that was what adults did. He was going to tell Bob that he actually wanted to keep working in Oakdale and find out if that was a real possibility.

He wasn't letting Steve – or Angus, or his parents deaths or anything else – make choices for him anymore. It was a cliché, but he was the master of his own destiny, as the saying went. And he wanted to be there for Luke and – amazingly enough – Luke's siblings. Even if it was just friendship.

He wanted to debate with Lucinda, keep eating Emma's cooking – he even wanted to keep butting heads with Lily, simply because she deserved it.

He wanted to keep hanging out with Katie and watch Jacob grow up, find out if he liked boys or girls – or both or neither. See first hand the kind of man he'd grow up to be. He wanted to learn more about Brad and the kind of man he was.

He didn't want to miss any of it.

It was quite some decision he'd reached, silently sitting in Luke's surprisingly-average car. Luke likely had no clue whatsoever what had just occurred mere inches away from him, the maelstrom that'd been going on inside Reid's head.

But that was fine, too. Reid was definitely going to tell him, but now wasn't the time. If Luke actually didn't like him back, he didn't want to make it difficult or awkward for him by doing it while they were still pretending to date.

Still, if Lucinda was as good as advertised, it wouldn't be long until Steve was running out of town with his metaphorical tail between his legs – and then he could tell Luke everything.

It might only be a matter of a day or two. Reid was looking forward to it.

"You're grinning," Luke pointed out, sending him an odd look.

Reid realised he was right. "I just have a feeling everything's going to work out," he shrugged.

Looking surprised but pleased, Luke nodded. "That's because it is. You've got grandma on your side – trust me, she can do anything."

"I'm sure she can." Lucinda seemed like a formidable business woman. "But I think that if everything does work out, in the end, it won't be because of her."

Frowning, Luke kept switching between concentrating on the road and sending confused looks Reid's way, as if trying to determine exactly what Reid meant by that.

"It's okay, concentrate on driving," he urged, turning to see his own reflection in the passenger side window. Reid smiled at himself. "I'll explain everything another time."

*

Reid had a pleasant couple of days after that. It was honestly as if a weight had been lifted that he hadn't even realised he'd been lugging around. It sounded sappy as hell, but he was happier. He smiled more. He wasn't as rude to his patients, even the really annoying ones – though he still got a good few digs in if they were absolute idiots.

Plus he got to spend time with Luke and could finally admit how much he enjoyed it, and not just for the entertaining fake boyfriend duties. He'd already admitted to himself that he liked Luke, romantically, but he genuinely liked him as a person, too. He was kind, funny, an asshole – all things he'd already told Katie. And all true.

Two days after their meeting with Lucinda, they were sharing a table in Java. Reid slurped at his caramel latte gratefully, enjoying the caffeine and sugar fix – and the company of the other man at the table.

"You've been different since we saw Grandma," Luke said, eyeing him from the other side of the table.

He wasn't wrong. "Oh?" Reid lowered his drink.

"Yeah," he mused, frowning as if trying to pin it down. "I don't what it is, exactly. It's like you're more relaxed or something. Maybe it's because you know Steve's going to be dealt with."

"Must be the reason," he agreed, because that was at least part of it.

"Well, good," Luke said, pleased. "I'm glad you're starting to feel better about things. What I said, that day?" he asked rhetorically. "About how he made you seem...not yourself?" He waited until Reid nodded. "That really bothered me. A lot, actually. I was worried that what he'd done to you had made you...resistant," he held Reid's gaze, "to taking chances."

And Reid knew without a doubt, now, that they were on the same page.

"Trust me," he said, staring back, the side of his thumb tracing the rim of his mug, "that's giving him far too much credit. I make my own choices."

"Good," Luke replied hesitantly, shifting his chair around the side of the table, gaze falling to Reid's mouth and and apparently he didn't need to wait after all, "because I was hoping-"

Reid's beeper went off.

"Oh my God, really?" Luke demanded, which only made Reid chuckle.

"Perils of the job," he told him as he fiddled with his beeper. "Emergency neuro-trauma," he announced, standing. "I have to go."

"That's gonna get annoying."

"That's also something you'll have to get used to," Reid replied, taking a moment to pause and look at him. "When you're dating me."

Luke looked back up at him, smiling. "I guess you're worth it."

Smiling back, Reid cupped the side of his face briefly – and then jogged out of the coffee shop.

Reid performed the emergency surgery brilliantly and though the patient would be in recovery for a long time, at least they'd recover.

He got home after midnight, exhausted but satisfied, and after letting himself into the apartment was greeted by a wicker basket full of muffins sitting on the side in the kitchen. Knowing already who they were for – Katie must've taken them in – he reached for the small card at the front.

_For the hard-working doctor_ , it said, _I hope the surgery went well_.

Shaking his head, Reid had no idea how Luke always got this stuff together so quickly – though, thinking about it, his huge wads of cash were likely a big clue.

Smiling to himself, Reid grabbed a blueberry muffin and shuffled off towards bed.

*

He slept incredibly well and, the next morning, sent a text.

_Thanks for the muffins. You should come over tonight and help me finish them off._

Luke's response wasn't long in coming. _I doubt I could eat that many muffins if I tried – but I'd be happy to try anyway. 6:30?_

_Sounds good_ , Reid texted back and started whistling as he got ready for work.

"You're in a good mood," Katie observed, carrying Jacob out from her bedroom.

"That's because life is good," he announced, plucking a chocolate muffin from the basket, intending to eat it for breakfast on the walk to work. "Jacob's good," he said, leaning in to ruffle his mostly-non-existent hair, "you're good," he kissed her on the cheek, "and muffins are good," he finished, holding his muffin in the air as if that made the point for him.

"It's good to see you so happy," she smiled, shifting her hold on Jacob. "A little weird, maybe," Katie admitted, "but definitely good. I'm glad things are working out for you," she added softly.

Reid didn't even make fun of her – that's how generous he was feeling. "Luke's coming over tonight," he offered instead.

"I knew it had something to do with him," she smirked knowingly. "Should I make myself scarce?"

While he appreciated the offer, he wasn't assuming anything – about sex with Luke, anyway. He knew they both wanted more, now, but it was still very early in their non-relationship. "We'll probably just be sharing some hot muffin-eating action."

"Of course you even make that sound dirty," she rebuked, but there was a definite smile on her face.

His day continued to progress nicely. Work went well, with only one or two slightly irritating issues. Things went even better when, a little after midday, Bob approached.

"Reid," he ambled over, "I've been meaning to speak to you all morning but haven't had the time."

Handing the clipboard back to the nurse, Reid clicked his pen and hooked it into the chest pocket of his lab coat. "What's up, doc?"

Bob didn't seem impressed. "Very droll, Reid."

"I thought so, yes."

"Anyway," he pressed on, because clearly the old man had no sense of humour, "I thought you'd appreciate hearing that, as of this morning, Memorial formally declined Invicta's offer."

Reid's heart might have actually leapt into his throat. "Really?" It had worked?

"Really," Bob confirmed, seeming pleased. "The board unanimously decided that Invicta's corporate model was not what was best for the hospital and our patients – and it certainly didn't reflect our personal values. No," he continued, "Memorial will very much remain the kind of hospital that puts patient care first."

This was fantastic – Memorial would stay the way it was and Steve would be leaving, definitely sooner rather than later. He was a little surprised Steve hadn't tracked him down after the meeting, but then he'd been in appointments all morning and Steve probably hadn't been able to track him down. "I need to call Luke," he said but even as he went to pull his phone out Luke barrelled around a corner, panting and frantically scanning the area.

When he locked eyes with Reid, he smiled.

"You heard," Reid said, forgetting all about Bob, quickly crossing over to him.

Luke jogged the few paces to him. "I did," he said, grabbing Reid's forearms. "He's leaving, Reid." Overjoyed, Luke hugged him firmly. "He's leaving."

Appreciating the hell out of Luke's warm form – and he didn't even have to pretend it was an act, now – Reid pulled back and grabbed Luke's upper arms. "We need to talk." He wasn't putting this off for a second longer.

"We do," Luke agreed, immediately babbling, "I know this was only supposed to be while Steve was here, but...I don't want it to stop?" he asked hopefully. "That day Casey interrupted us and I got all weird? It was because I was angry, no, furious at him for stopping the kiss and when I realised just how much I really wanted to keep kissing you, I...and it's not just that it's been so much fun," he went on, "which it has, but I finally feel like I know you. And I want to know so much more of you, Reid," he continued passionately, "you're so much more than the genius, or the doctor, or the guy who can think up insults at light-speed. You believe in what's right," Luke said firmly, staring hopefully at him, "and you make me feel valued in so many ways. When were in Java yesterday," he recalled, "I thought I was getting the impression that-"

"You were," Reid confirmed, making them grin stupidly at each other. "You definitely were."

"Really?" Luke asked, almost in disbelief, almost like he couldn't believe it was happening.

Reid knew how he felt. "Really."

"So we're really...?"

"Definitely," he said with conviction. "But," he glanced around – no one was paying them any attention, "this isn't right." Reid wasn't a fan of drama – not even a little – but after all the stupidness they'd been through together, there was only one right way to do this.

"What isn't right?" Luke looked lost.

"I still owe you," he quipped, then followed up with, "your mom's town house is nearby, right?" Luckily for Reid, it was conveniently close to the time he needed to take a lunch break.

Not even ten minutes later, they were standing outside Luke's mom's house – the house Luke was also living in at the moment – holding hands.

"I still don't get what we're doing here." He'd voiced some variation of that the whole walk over but Reid had refused to give anything away.

"You'll see," he said vaguely, looking up at the house. "Which one is your room?"

"That one," he replied, pointing to a set of windows that was fortunately at the front of the house.

"Good," he nodded, "go up there and open the window."

Luke still looked utterly confused. "Reid..."

"Come on," he urged, knowing he finally had to give Luke something. "I never did get the chance to out-do your flowers and declaration of love." Luke slowly starting smiling as the words sunk in. "You gotta at least give me the chance."

Smile now taking over his whole face, Luke squeezed his hand before jogging over to the front door, fumbling for his keys. After he'd disappeared inside, Reid unlocked his phone, turned the volume up and found the first vaguely romantic song on a playlist.

Luke already had the window open and was leaning out of it – he must've run the whole way – by the time Reid had the music blaring, holding the phone over his head.

"What are you doing?" Luke yelled from his bedroom window, looking delighted.

Amazingly, Reid was the one who was making him feel that way and smiled himself as he called up to him. "Have you never seen _Say Anything_?"

"Say what?"

Philistine. "It's a movie from the eighties."

"Oh my God," Luke shouted back, "just how old are you?"

That little shit. Reid was vaguely aware that he was drawing a small crowd, but he genuinely didn't care. "Look, I'm John Cusack. Your mom is the parent who wants to keep us apart. You're-"

"I'm the girl, aren't I?" he interrupted. "You don't even have to say it. I am totally the girl."

"Girls are awesome!" Someone shouted from nearby.

"Yeah," Reid agreed loudly. "Listen to the random stranger, Luke! Girls are awesome!"

Laughing, Luke shook his head. "You're crazy!" he yelled as the song reached the chorus.

"Crazy enough to want to be your boyfriend," he agreed. "Luke Snyder," he continued, "will you do me the honour of becoming my real, honest-to-goodness, nothing to do with any ex-jerk boyfriends, boyfriend?"

Luke tried to hide his smile but he might as well have been trying to hide the sun. "I don't know," he tried to muse, like he was trying to think it over, "will I get to hear you sing to Jacob?"

He liked the asshole so much. "Yes," he conceded, "I'll let you hear me singing to Jacob."

"I'll be right there!" Luke yelled with excitement, pulling the window shut with a loud thump. Reid had only just got his phone put safely away when the front door flew open and Luke came barrelling out. Reid had been expecting it and was braced, ready and waiting, for the kiss that followed.

There might have been a light smattering of applause. Reid ignored it.

He just kissed Luke back, for as long as he could get away with, and when they finally parted they were both grinning at each other.

"I think you might have won," Luke said in wonder. "I don't even want to out-do it because that was easily the most romantic thing that's ever happened to me."

Reid did feel a quick swell of pride, but he tamped it down. That wasn't what mattered, not today. "Nah," he shrugged, face nuzzling against Luke's as they moved into a hug. "I figure we both won."

It was, as he would've said before, incredibly cheesy – but it was also true. And he wasn't letting insignificant little assholes like Steve stop him from doing what he really wanted – not when doing what he really wanted meant he ended up with Luke.

Nope, he thought, as Luke pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. Never again.

*

Reid, unfortunately, had to return to work – people didn't stop needing medical care just because he'd finally got his crap together. Luke insisted on walking with him, though, and they alternated between holding hands and sharing kisses all the way there.

If he'd seen the way they were acting himself, he would've found them sickening, disgusting.

But he loved every freaking second of it.

Their shared good mood took an unfortunate blip as they passed through Old Town, where they ran into Steve. He was dragging a small suitcase behind him and didn't look happy.

"Of course I run into you," he spat, glaring at Reid. "I had them. I had them right in the palm of my hand, even after their earlier concerns and then...I don't know how you did it," he shook his head, "but every single one of them came back and said no. Do you know what this is going to do to me at Invicta?"

"I really couldn't give a crap about you or Invicta," he drawled and Steve seemed so...small, now. What must he have gone through to turn him into the kind of person he was?

Or maybe he really was just a sociopath.

Either way, he wasn't Reid's problem anymore. 

"You think I won't come for you?" Steve asked, eyes disturbed. "I'll make your life a living hell."

"I don't think so," Luke said back sharply, drawing Steve's attention as he walked right up to him. "You mess with my boyfriend and you mess with me. And you really, really don't want to mess with me. My birth father is Damian Grimaldi," he told Steve, "and though the name may mean nothing to you now, once you've looked him up..." Luke shrugged. "Well, let's just say that you'll never want to cross paths with us again. Now, Damian's been out of town lately, working through some issues at his New York office, but he's coming back soon. You were clearly on your way out of town anyway," he said, nodding towards the suitcase, "so I suggest you go. Before he returns. And never come back here again."

Staring back at Luke intensely, Steve was plainly trying to work out if he was bluffing or not. Apparently deciding that he wasn't after all, Steve grabbed the handle of his suitcase and tried to hang on to what remained of his pride. "This whole visit has worked out for me in the long run anyway," he told Reid, like he gave a crap. "You're not the only one who found a boyfriend in this tiny little excuse for a town. I've convinced him to move back with me already," he added smugly, pleased that he was still such a manipulative tool, "I'm on my way to meet up with him, and then Mason and I will say goodbye to this godforsaken town forever."

It could've been a coincidence but even Reid recognised that name. From the look of surprise on Luke's face, he was picturing just the same person.

"I'm sure you deserve each other," Reid said, but instead of looking at Steve he watched Luke's reaction as his shock transformed into a smile. "C'mon," he continued, turning his back on Steve, "we're done with this joker."

He made a point of not looking back.

The moment they were close to a sturdy enough vertical surface, however, Reid pressed Luke up against it and gave him the filthiest kiss they'd ever shared. There was tongue, there was spit and, by the end of it, they were both a little hard.

Eyes blown wide when they finally pulled apart – though not by much as they were still pressed up against each other – Luke smiled as his gaze focused on Reid's mouth. "What was that for?" he asked, patting Reid's face absently.

"Do you have any idea how hot you were just then?" he asked rhetorically. "Defending my honour with threats and intimidation? I didn't even know that did it for me, but apparently it does."

Luke's smile became a smirk. "I guess I'll have to keep doing that then."

"I guess you will," Reid agreed with his own grin, as they moved in to kiss again.

A loud banging noise made them jump, and they turned to see the owner of the antique shop window they were pressed up against gesturing towards them angrily.

Luke immediately moved away from the window, tugging Reid with him. "Sorry, Mr Chamberlain," he said awkwardly.

"Should've charged him for watching," Reid murmured into his ear, making Luke smile again as he threw an arm around his shoulder and led the way back to Memorial.

*

They kept their muffin date, though there was a lot more making out than there was muffin-eating. It was inevitable, of course, that eventually they experimented with a combination of the two, though that meant muffin ended up everywhere and Reid's inner-neat freak had to stop because all the crumbs lying around were driving him crazy.

The sofa was mostly looking back to its normal self when Luke's phone went off. Brushing the crumbs from his hand into the trash, Luke pulled his phone out on the way back but paused when he saw who was calling.

Reid frowned. "Who is it?"

"Mom," Luke sighed, moving again to take a seat on the sofa.

Reid sat next to him. "How are things between you two now?"

The phone stopped ringing. Luke placed it on the table in front of them. "We live in the same house, so we have been talking to each other – but not about anything important, you know? And Mom and Dad did talk some things through that night, but you never really know." He glanced at Reid. "To be honest I've been trying not to spend all my time worrying about it and you've been a _great_ distraction," he said kindly. "When I'm with you everything's so...vivid, so...concentrated. I can forget about all that other junk for a while."

Reid nodded – he could understand wanting to do that. "Well, I'll be around for the foreseeable future, so feel free to use me to distract yourself at will."

Tipping his head to one side, Luke studied him fondly. "Does that mean you're sticking around after Noah's surgery after all?" He didn't sound unsure.

"It'd be pretty hard to keep working at Memorial if I left."

The confirmation definitely made him happy, though. "I knew it," he insisted as he grinned, bumping his arm against Reid's. "Or, hoped. The way you'd been saying lately how you'd be there for me and the others. That you wouldn't abandon Ethan, Nat and Faith."

"Even I know what's really important in life," he seriously. "Speaking of which..." Reid nodded to Luke's phone. "You should call your mom. Actually talk to her."

He still wasn't a fan of Lily's, not by a long shot, but he knew how important the relationship was to Luke. If she had actually made an effort with Holden – and there was no reason to doubt Luke's word – then maybe she was ready to put her kids first.

Acknowledging Reid's advice, Luke nodded and picked up the phone. After hesitating for a moment, he unlocked the phone and quickly returned the call. Choosing to stand, he started pacing around as he waited for Lily to pick up.

Reid busied himself by neatening up all the cushions they'd disturbed on the sofa.

"Hey, Mom," Luke greeted, "sorry I missed your call." After a few moments, he glanced over towards Reid. "You heard about that, huh?" he asked, looking happy. "Yes," he confirmed, "Reid was outside our house playing music and yes, we kissed in front of everyone. He was showing me how much he cares about me," he told her and the two of them smiled at each other across the apartment at the memory.

Reid certainly wasn't forgetting today anytime soon. Hell, he wasn't forgetting anything about Luke anytime soon.

Since the very first time he'd met Luke, he'd turned Reid's entire world upside down. Reid had hated it at first – another guy trying to control him, the disruption to his routine. But it hadn't taken very long at all, really, for Reid to see that for all the outward similarities, Luke was nothing like Steve.

He was, surprisingly enough, what Reid had been unknowingly waiting for all this time.

Even more amazingly, he seemed to be just what Luke needed, too. Somehow, Reid had lucked into the one relationship with the one guy that was actually going to work. He had no fear, now, no doubt – he knew they were going to make it. And he knew they were going to have a hell of a lot of fun on the way.

"Yeah," Luke said softly into his phone, gaze turning gentle as he continued to look across at Reid. "Yeah, Mom. I know exactly how lucky I am."

~FINIS


End file.
